Miles Away
by Sarah Kay Writer
Summary: (Sequel to "My Summer Away"). Now that summer is over, the boys and girls have parted ways. Will their new relationships survive even though they are miles away from each other? And will they be able to handle an angry ex-boyfriend and fiancé, a dangerous secret, and a father who is desperately trying to keep his son quiet? OS, IS, PS, CS ; main focus on Oldrivalshipping this time.
1. Chapter 1: Hidden Away

Hello my dear readers! I'm hoping that many of you squealed in joy when you got notice of this story :) It's taken me so long to put this up because of a few reasons. It's my senior year of high school, so things are busy with my personal life. Also, chapter one of Nevermore didn't have as impressive of an amount of views as I expected, so I'm trying to decide if I should even bother pursuing it and just write this instead. And I've been trying to figure out how to go about writing this without using song lyrics, because I don't want to deal with Critics United this time around. Unsurprisingly, "My Summer Away" still has not been removed from the site. I'm still nervous about that happening sometime soon though, because people who've had it happen to them told me it takes several months for anything to get deleted after it's reported. I'm hoping nothing happens though, because according to the stats I'm getting, people are still reading that story a lot, which is totally amazing, so thank you so much, guys! :)

Note: For those who may not know, I have to put an extra symbol into any swear words I use or my computer will turn them into all symbols. Sorry. I hate it just as much as you all probably do.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. I don't even own an iPod.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Leaf jolted as her alarm clock went off, and she smacked her hand down on it aggressively. She blinked at the still unfamiliar sight that greeted her every morning. If she was home right now, today would be her first day back at school. She wasn't home though. Instead, she was living in a small country house in Kanto, hidden away from her parents and her friends. Tiredly, she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, landing them into her fuzzy green slippers. She stood up and grabbed her matching bath robe, tightly wrapping it around her slender frame so that she could head downstairs.

As she padded down the hallway, she thought about waking Gary up, but decided that he could have at least a few extra minutes of sleep while she made him some breakfast. They slept in separate rooms at the request of Professor Oak. Sometimes Leaf yearned to sleep in Gary's arms, but she was also grateful for the space between them at night.

Professor Oak was always an early riser, and he had already woken up and left for his lab next door even though it was only seven o'clock in the morning, so she didn't need to worry about preparing food for their host. She had barely even seen him since they arrived. He was always very busy at the lab it seemed.

Leaf had just finished pouring water into the coffee maker, when she saw that they were completely out of coffee. The empty container was sitting out on the counter, undoubtedly finished off by Professor Oak. For a few minutes, she just stood there and stared at it, mourning the absence of morning coffee which they desperately needed today. Finally, she moved on and began to prepare some eggs and bacon for herself and Gary.

"Good morning," Gary said as he walked into the kitchen. The words were slurred together in his drunken state of tiredness. "Coffee. Need coffee."

Leaf sighed heavily. "There isn't any. Your grandfather drank it all."

Gary pulled out a chair and plopped down into it before letting his forehead drop onto the table. The spikes of his hair were droopy after a night of sleep, and red lines were still printed into his face from his pillow.

"I can't even process that information," he moaned. Leaf opened the refrigerator and grabbed a can of Mountain Dew, setting it down in front of Gary.

"You can drink this," she said, "It has caffeine."

"Soda for breakfast... you're turning me into Ash," Gary said as he popped the can open and took a sip. Leaf ignored him and turned the bacon over while she scrambled the eggs at the same time. Some silence passed between them as she cooked and he drank his soda. Gary eyed her sleepily, a warm smile appearing on his face. "You look good in the morning, you know that? With your hair all disheveled and your eyes glazed over..."

Leaf tried not to blush as she put some bacon and eggs on a plate and set it down in front of him. She studied him for a moment.

"Can't say the same about you," she answered.

"Ooh, so cold," Gary teased. He turned in his chair and pulled her onto his lap, facing him. She leaned in for a soft kiss, which he eagerly reciprocated. She loved kissing him in the morning when his face was not yet shaven, and the tiny hairs pricked her skin and made her shiver. "You know," he said to her when they parted, "I'd love to see what's under that bathrobe, but you're so cold this morning I think you'd better keep it on."

Leaf slapped him hard. "You wouldn't be seeing anything either way," she huffed, springing off of his lap and retrieving her own plate of food while it was still hot.

"Good news, Leafy. I'm wide awake now."

"Eat your eggs, Gary." Leaf wasn't really angry at him. All girls liked to be desired. But Leaf knew better than to let Gary get too carried away. They may be a couple, and they may have known each other for several months now, but no way in h*ell was she ready for anything serious. They had enough to focus on already anyways.

"We're supposed to meet Anita at noon in Vermillion City. Our bus leaves at nine," Leaf said. She'd called up Anita as soon as they'd arrived in Pallet Town three weeks ago, and the appointment had been set. The Pokemusic agent had been so thrilled when Leaf called her, which had been reassuring for the both of them. Anita must really believe in them to have sounded so breathless on the Pokegear.

"Right. And I need to bring my guitar," Gary said.

"Right. Are you nervous?"

"Aren't you?"

Leaf didn't answer for a moment. "You're sure we're doing the right thing?"

Gary slammed his hand down on the table.

"D*amn it, Leaf! We made this decision together! I asked you if you were sure you wanted to come with me, and you decided that you would! I wish you would stop being so hesitant and just give this thing your all, because in case you haven't noticed, it's a little too late to turn back now!"

"I know that, Gary! If you think I don't want this just as much as you do, then you're wrong! I just miss everyone, okay?" Silence followed Leaf's words. The two of them hadn't spoken about missing their friends ever since they got on the train. In fact, Gary's earlier comment about her turning him into Ash had been the first time they'd spoken of their friends at all. Even though they had their friends' numbers, they hadn't called any of them to let them know where they were, and they couldn't call Gary and Leaf because they'd ditched their old Pokegears back in Undella Town and activated new ones with new numbers in Pallet Town.

Gary stood up and went over to Leaf, bending down and hugging her from behind her chair. She leaned her cheek into his neck as a single tear slipped down her face.

"I miss them too," Gary said. "It's hard, knowing that we're scaring them and our parents. Soon, Leaf. We'll be able to call them soon. Once we have a deal with the recording company, we'll be safe from our parents' control. There'll be security. We'll be traveling constantly, and we'll be able to call Misty and Ash and the others. It's not much longer now."

Leaf sighed a deep sigh.

"Okay," she said.

"Good. We have to get ready to leave now. There's a lot to do."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Pink, or blue?" Dawn asked into her Pokegear. "Dressy, or casual?" She was standing in her bedroom, staring at her reflection in the mirror as she held up two different outfits. One was a pink short-sleeved hoodie and jean shorts. The other was a light blue button-up blouse and a black skirt. She had woken up early to do her hair and makeup, knowing how important it was to look absolutely spectacular on the first day of school.

"Umm... Blue. And casual," the voice on the other end answered. Dawn groaned in frustration. That didn't help her. The pink outfit was casual and the blue one was dressy.

"Paul, you suck at this," she whined, starting to put the blue blouse on and stepping into her skirt.

"Well why are you asking me questions like this anyway!?" Paul shouted defiantly.

"I don't know! I just want to look good! I'm a senior now, so I need to step it up this year! I could be the cheer leading captain this year!"

"And the way you dress affects that?"

"Of course it does, Paul! Don't you know anything?"

"Dawn, I really don't have time for this." Dawn pouted at his words. "Dawn, I can feel that pout through the Pokegear. Stop pouting. You know I can't stand it when you do that. Stop it!"

"Then stop being so Paul-ish!"

"What does that even mean!?"

"How am I supposed to know?" She heard Paul let out a low moan of frustration.

"Listen Dawn, I think you look great no matter what you wear."

"Aw, thanks, Paul!"

"I really have to go now."

"I know. Love you!"

"Love you too." They made kissy noises into the phone before they hung up. Dawn smiled and then bounced down the stairs gleefully. She loved to annoy Paul. That certainly hadn't changed since they'd started dating.

"Morning, honey," her mom greeted her as she came into the kitchen. "Do you want some pancakes?"

"No time," Dawn said, grabbing a banana and unpeeling it. Her father sat at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper. He looked up briefly and lowered his glasses down his nose as his eyes darted from her face to her skirt. He settled on her face, giving her a questioning stare.

"I wish you wouldn't dress like that," he said. "You're such a nice girl, Dawn. Why do you want to look like some old man's chippy?"

Dawn tugged at her skirt self-consciously. "Daddy, we talked about this. We've talked about it every year since seventh grade. Everyone dresses this way, and if I want to be captain of the cheerleading squad then I need to look especially pretty this year."

"You mean sexy," he corrected her.

"Well... yes," she admitted, pouring a quick glass of milk for herself. "I could dress a lot worse than this you know. At least my shirt is buttoned up. However, I promise to tone it down once try-outs are over and the cheerleading captain has been chosen."

Dawn's father sighed and let a tired smile form on his face. He was a handsome man, his age only showing a little bit in his gray hairs and microscopic wrinkles around the eyes.

"Okay, sweetie. I know you're growing up. I just don't like it. Come here." Dawn leaned down to give him a gigantic hug and he kissed her cheek. "Have a good day at school, baby."

Dawn still hadn't told him about Samantha, and she didn't know how to. How do you tell your father that you met your half sister that he doesn't even know exists? What was she supposed to do, wake up one morning and say, "Morning Dad! By the way, your ex-wife was pregnant when you divorced her and she had your baby anyway." She had no idea what she was supposed to do. He deserved to know, but it had to be the right time to tell him.

"Thanks, Daddy!" she beamed before grabbing her pink bag and heading out to her car. Dawn drove a small, black, two door car that her parents had bought for her. It wasn't a rich kid car, but it was better than what a lot of the other kids had. As she opened the driver's seat door, a car horn startled her from out on the road.

"Hey Dawn! Can I drive you to school today?" It was Kenny.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Dawn said, biting her bottom lip nervously.

"Please? I just want to talk," he said. Dawn thought about it for another second, then against her better judgment, she went ahead and trotted around the side of Kenny's car and got in with him. She was silent as they pulled away and she buckled her seatbelt awkwardly.

"Are you still dating the Paul guy?" Kenny asked.

"Kenny, I've only been dating him for like three weeks. I don't break up with people that fast."

"Right. You string them along for month after month while you're out seeing someone else on the side," he said coldly.

"Stop the car. I'll walk."

"No, Dawn. You're going to listen to me whether you want to or not."

Dawn scowled at the windshield. She understood that Kenny was hurting from their breakup, but he was being rude and she didn't want to be harassed for the decision she had made. She didn't have a choice though, and maybe if she let him vent he would finally leave her alone for at least a week or two.

"I trusted you, Dawn. I didn't want you to go away for the summer, but I kept telling myself that when you came back we would still be okay. That things would be better than ever. Every single day I thought about you, and how much I wanted to be with you but couldn't. And even when you told me about how Paul kissed you and then you became friends with him, I didn't think for one second that you would end up falling for him. I trusted you so much that it didn't even concern me. And then next thing I knew, you were home and you shattered my heart into pieces. You cheated on me. I never thought that you would cheat on me. Even when I imagined the possibility of a breakup, I didn't think it would involve you cheating on me. And now I'll have to see you every day and know that you prefer someone who you can't even be around all year. Look at you. You're so beautiful, and I felt so lucky to have you. I loved you. I still do."

Dawn winced at his last three words. Those were words that she didn't want to hear. Words she didn't want to feel guilty about.

"I'm sorry, Kenny. I loved you too. And I know that it was wrong of me to cheat on you, but I just didn't know how to tell you, and it all happened so suddenly. But now I love Paul, and that decision is final. I wish it all could've happened a different way. I wish that you could stop having feelings for me, but I know there's nothing I can do to change that right now. I won't be changing my mind. I suggest that you don't bother trying to make that happen."

Every word felt like an ice cube rising from her throat and onto her tongue, but she knew there was no way to deliver the message without being cold and causing pain for him. The school was in sight now. Only a few more minutes until she could get away from him.

Kenny kept his eyes on the road as he slowed down and turned into the school's parking lot.

"It's not going to last," he said.

"What?" Dawn asked.

"You're long distance relationship. Those never work out. He'll run out of romantic things to say to you. And without any physical elements, your feelings for him will fade. And then you'll be sorry you left me." Kenny pulled into a parking space and shut off the car. The two of them sat in silence for a moment before Dawn spoke.

"You're wrong, Kenny. Paul and I love each other, and we're not just going to let our relationship die out over time. It's true that we might break up one day, but one thing's for sure," she looked at him from the passenger seat, "it won't be because Paul ran out of romantic things to say. That barrel was empty to begin with." Dawn unbuckled her seatbelt and exited the car, leaving him behind. If she had to deal with Kenny's broken heart all year, then her senior year was going to be even longer than she already anticipated.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Drew sat in study hall, bored out of his mind. Paul sat next to him, listening to music on his iPod and scribbling something on a piece of paper. They weren't supposed to use their electronics in study hall, but Paul was never one to play by the rules. Being their senior year, the two boys had opted to take study hall instead of some lame elective class. Ash, on the other hand, had chosen to take Child Psychology. He'd signed up for it thinking it would be an easy A that would look good on his grade card. Later, he'd found out that it was the class where you have to take the electronic baby home for a weekend. At that point it was too late to drop the class, and now he was dreading his inevitable fate. Drew found the whole situation hysterical.

Suddenly, Drew's Pokegear vibrated and he tensed up. He glanced at the study hall teacher, then breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that she hadn't heard it. He switched his Pokegear to completely silent and then checked his messages. It was May. His smile quickly turned into a frown as he read the message's content.

_ I have a class with him._

"Him" could only be one person. Brendan Birch. Drew's blood boiled at the thought of the person he'd never met, but knew a lot about. He responded to May.

_ It'll be okay. Do you sit near him?_

He waited for her to message him back, keeping his eye on the teacher.

_No. He's on the other side of the room, but I can't even focus on anything but him._

That was bad news. May already struggled to get grades acceptable enough for her parents.

_Can you get your schedule changed?_

If May could change her schedule, everything would be okay. She could rearrange the order of her classes so that she wouldn't be in there with him.

_ No. It's too late. And even if I could change my class schedule, I would probably just end up in a different class with him. Most seniors take the same set of classes._

Drew's heart sank. There was no solution that he could give to her. May would have to spend all year having a class with Brendan, and if she failed that class, it would mean big trouble.

_ Try to be brave, baby. I know you're scared, and I wish I could be there to protect you. But May, he's not going to hurt you again. Never. No one's ever going to hurt you again. Try to focus. There has to be some solution that we aren't thinking of. And if he tries anything, just remember how you punched Abby in the face this summer and do the same thing to him, except go for his balls._

Drew bit his lower lip. He hated that he wasn't able to be with May and reassure her. She'd come so far this summer and her friends had agreed that she was returning to her normal self, but now she might begin to backslide again if she had a class with Brendan. He couldn't bear to watch that happen.

"Drew and Paul!" the study hall teacher called. Drew jumped a little. She'd caught them using their electronics! When he looked up though, he noticed that the principal had entered the study hall. "Please go with Mr. Searls," the study hall teacher said. Drew breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn't been caught after all. He and Paul got up and followed the principle out of study hall. Paul didn't even bother to take his ear-buds out, and their teacher glared at the both of them as they walked past. Drew groaned inwardly. Now she'd be keeping a closer eye on them the rest of the year. Thanks a lot, Paul.

Ash was already in the office when they walked in.

"That Child Psychology class is full of girls! I'm the only guy in there!" he complained in a whisper.

"If you think I'm going to switch to that class, you're nuts," Drew hissed. Paul grunted in agreement.

"Ahem," Mr. Searls cleared his throat. They all immediately gave him their undivided attention.

"I suppose you all know that I called you down here to talk about the disappearance of Gary Oak. There still hasn't been any new information added to the case. All of his family members have been contacted, and none of seem to know anything about where he may have gone. I know all of you have been questioned by the police and the detectives and Gary's parents enough already these past few weeks, but it's my job to ask you one more time that you're very sure you know nothing about where he and the girl went?"

"No, sir," Drew answered. "All he told us is that they were going to start a band and become famous. Whether that will actually happen or not we don't know, but they did get an agent who believed they have talent, so it's possible."

Principal Searls shook his head. "Such a smart, talented boy. I can't believe he ran off to pursue something as short-lived as a musical career."

The three boys remained silent. They were all thinking about how much they wished they were anywhere else right now.

"Listen. If Gary contacts any of you in any way, you must tell me immediately."

"Yes, sir," all three boys answered.

"You may go back to class now, boys," the principal said dismissively. He began muttering to himself about how the school was finally going to graduate someone with promise for success and he blew it.

Once all three of them had exited his office, they stood in the hallway and exchanged glances.

"Whoever Gary contacts first... we don't say a thing," Paul said in a tone that didn't leave room for any arguments.

"I agree," Drew said.

"Yeah..." Ash said. "I know we were all mad at him at first, but... I think we owe it to him to help him out. This is what Gary wants. And... I believe in him. I think he and Leaf will be just fine."

"All these people who keep questioning us - they don't care about Gary," Paul said. "His parents just want their golden child back, the police want to get the job over with as soon as possible so that they don't have to work on the case anymore, and our principal just wants Gary back because his GPA made the school look good."

"Seems like the only person thinking about Gary is Gary," Ash confirmed.

"So it's settled then?" Drew asked, looking at both Paul and Ash. They both nodded. "Okay then... Gary's going to owe us big time when all of this is over."

"Agreed," Paul grunted.

XXXXXXXXXX

And there's the first chapter! I have some great ideas about where to go with this story, so I'm really excited guys.

I hope to see lots of my old reviewers again, and if you're new then that's totally awesome too! Feel free to ask questions, leave predictions, criticism, snarky comments, whatever have you in a review :) Thanks so much, guys!


	2. Chapter 2: Audition

Hey guys! Here's the second chapter :) I'm hoping to update this story fairly often. And I'm going to try to keep posting chapters for Nevermore as well, so if you read that story too you can expect an update sometime soon.

One thing I do want to talk about. This will not be a "high school fic." I want to write about what happens to them at school as little as possible, and focus more on the relationships between everyone. Yeah, there will be scenes that take place in their schools, but I want to keep it to a minimum because let's face it: classroom/lunchroom scenes suck. And one more thing! Yes, the main pairing for this story is going to be Leaf and Gary. I'm sorry if any Ikarishippers feel like I blind-sided them, but I really want to focus on Oldrivalshipping this time around. But don't worry, you'll still get PLENTY of the other three ships just like in the last story! Okay. Now that that's out of the way, we'll get to the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Paul was driving around the block over and over again. He always had to do this when he went home at the end of the school day. If his father wasn't there, he only circled the block a couple times, but if his father's car was sitting in the driveway, he continued to go for a few extra laps to calm himself. It was part of his transition. He needed a few minutes to switch from the safety of school to the anxiety of his house. Most of the time his father left him alone, but he was completely unpredictable, and Paul never knew when he would snap.

Today, his father's car was in the driveway. Their house looked sad and gray instead of the bright white that it really was. Time for a few more laps. One of his neighbors was sitting on her porch. It was a woman in her late adulthood with her hair braided to the side and wrinkles around her eyes and forehead. She kept watching him drive by, and he was sure that she thought he was mentally challenged or something. In fact, his father had probably told her that at some point. When he was little, adults would ask why Paul didn't talk. His father, desperate to hide any evidence of an unhappy home, would tell them that he was shy and that he had a learning disability. It was a terrible lie that didn't even make much sense, but usually nobody questioned him. His mother would always play along so as to avoid the consequences of challenging his father in public. Nobody asked about Paul anymore. One look at him and they assumed he was going through an emo phase.

After driving around the block five times, Paul finally parked his car in the driveway. As he collected his bag and opened the car door, he tried his best to control his heart beat. Had he remembered to take out the trash this morning? Yes, he definitely had. No need to worry about that, then.

He walked up the driveway as slowly as possible, and each porch step seemed to take ten seconds to climb. Once he was in the house, he walked calmly towards the stairway, hoping to avoid any and all contact with his father.

"Wait."

He halted. His father came into the room and stared at him. He hated his father's eyes. When he looked into them, he could see the complexity of every horrid emotion his father had to live with. His anger, bitterness, loneliness, coldness, and denial all churned in two stormy circles of grey. But worst of all was the fear that held it all together. His father was afraid of Paul just as much as Paul was afraid of him. And Paul could see it in those eyes. What scared him was that he knew his eyes were a reflection of those stormy globes.

"I'm having guests over for dinner. Business stuff. So stay in your room tonight or go out somewhere."

"Okay." The conversation ended on that note. No other words were exchanged. Paul went up the stairs and exhaled heavily behind his shut door. Within the blue walls and locked door of his room, no one could touch him. No one except Dawn. He wanted to text her, but he knew that she was at cheerleading practice right now, and he knew better than to get in the way. Dawn had her heart set on being head cheerleader.

Paul muttered to himself. He didn't want to be holed up alone in his room. But he didn't want to go hang out with Drew or Ash either. What he really wanted to do was go buy some pot, but he'd made a promise to himself and a promise to Dawn that he was done with that shi*t.

Paul's Pokegear rang, and he looked down at it in anticipation. He thought it was Dawn. But when he looked down, he saw that it was his brother, Reggie.

"What?" he asked coolly as he answered.

"I was wondering how your first day of school went," Reggie answered.

"It was fine," Paul grunted. He hated Reggie. Reggie was way too nice and way to ignorant for his own good. His twenty-three year old brother had never been beaten and abused by their father. He didn't even know what their father had done. So he got to live his perfect fairytale life while Paul endured the h*ell of his upbringing. While Reggie had brought home academic awards and trophies from battle competitions, Paul had spent a great deal of time hiding his scars and bruises from his teachers and friends. Then he started doing drugs and Reggie became the pot police. He claimed he was trying to help him, but Paul felt like he was trying to take away the one escape he still had just so that he could feel superior and authoritative. Reggie was a happy-go-lucky kind of guy - the complete opposite of Paul.

"That's good to hear, Paul. I'll come over and visit you and Dad tomorrow. How is Dad?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Maybe if you didn't push him away he'd talk to you more."

It took everything in Paul to keep from screaming. Reggie was oblivious. Reggie sided with their father. It was almost too much for Paul to handle.

"I have to go," he said shortly.

"Okay, Paul. See you tomorrow."

He hung up without saying good-bye to Reggie. He needed to take out his frustrations. Recklessly, he slammed his fist into the nearby wall and grunted in pain. He repeated the process again and again until he couldn't feel his hand anymore. His knuckles would be bruised tomorrow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"It's great that you didn't have volleyball practice after school today," Misty said to May. The two of them were on their way to the local fitness center, which housed a large indoor pool. May didn't have a membership, but Misty went there so often that they frequently let her bring the other girls in for free. They'd both driven to May's house so that she could pick up her swimsuit and gym bag, and then Misty was driving the both of them to the gym.

"Too bad Dawn had cheerleading practice and couldn't join us," May said as she tied her hair back.

"Something tells me she doesn't mind," Misty said.

"Heh. You're right. Dawn's been talking about the possibility of being cheer captain since we were in middle school. Do you think she'll get it?"

"Of course. Her only competition is Ursula, and I hear that the cheerleading coach hates her guts."

"I heard about that too. I heard that last year she caught her topless with Lucas behind the bleachers."

"Seriously!? Ugh..."

"Yeah. So, did Rudy give you any trouble today, Misty?"

"No. He's dating Melody again. But he did make sure that they passed me in the hallway as many times as possible. I flipped him off for it, but he seemed to enjoy that."

"So he's using Melody to annoy you and try to get you interested in him again."

"Seems that way. He's such a tool."

"Well at least you only have one more year of high school with him. And then you'll be off to college to complete the gym leader training program so you can take over the family gym, right?"

"Right..." Misty's chest tightened. She didn't want to be a gym leader. She didn't want to go to college for two years of training. She wanted to swim. She wanted to spend a few years as a professional swimmer while she was at her physical peak and then she'd be fine with settling into the gym leader role. But her sisters wouldn't hear of it. And then there was Ash. He was planning on traveling after high school. He'd always be on the road, and she'd never get to see him.

"Do you think I could convince my sisters to let me be a professional swimmer after high school?" Misty asked. May turned to look at her.

"Are you thinking about doing that?" she asked.

"Yeah. I am," Misty answered honestly. Don't worry though. I promise not to pull a Leaf and Gary."

"Good." May knew that Misty struggled with the feeling of being controlled. She'd been dreading the day that she would become the gym leader of Cerulean City, and May knew that more than anything Misty wanted to live in the water and be a swimmer. It was different for herself. May knew what she wanted to do with her life, and her parents fully supported her. After high school, she would be attending college to get more training as a coordinator, while competing in as many local contests as she could. She also knew that Drew was planning on attending the same college, so their relationship would still remain strong. She couldn't imagine how Misty felt knowing that Ash would be traveling around a lot.

When the two girls arrived at the fitness center, they went to the locker room to change into their swimsuits and then they went straight to the pool. Misty dived in and furiously began swimming, while May slowly slid herself into the cold water and began swimming lazy laps. There was no point in trying to keep up with Misty, or even try to talk to the girl, while she was in a pool. She was as close to a mermaid as someone could get.

In Misty's imagination, she was racing against an imaginary opponent. They were good. Really good. The two of them were neck and neck, swimming in equal strokes at equal speeds. No way was Misty going to let her win. It was the final lap. Misty put every ounce of energy she had into the final length of the swimming pool. She imagined her opponent being left behind in the spray of her madly kicking legs, and she reached out with her hands to press against the wall of the pool. She'd won! She'd left that b*itch behind and attained the ultimate victory! The gold medal! The fame and fortune!

Suddenly remembering May, Misty turned to look for her friend. What she found was a brunette sitting on the side of the pool covering her nose with one hand while blood trailed down her fingers.

"Oh my god, May! What happened?"

"You kicked me in the face when you passed by me a couple laps ago," May said.

"Oh my god!" Misty shouted again, pulling herself up out of the pool and running over to her friend. She stood in a panic for a few seconds, and then she ran over to the side of the room and grabbed May's towel out of her bag. She ran it back to the girl and watched as she wiped the blood off of her face.

"Is it broken?" Misty asked.

"I don't think so," May said. "But I don't know..."

"Let me see now that you've wiped most of the blood away." Misty examined May's nose. It looked like it was still the correct shape. There was no weird bumps or angles on the skin. "Touch it and see if it hurts worse when you do that," she suggested. May gently poked the side of her nose.

"It feels okay," she reported. "The bleeding seems to have lessened too. I think it's okay."

"Thank god," Misty sighed. "You should get it checked out to be sure though. I'll drive you to the hospital. I'm really sorry, May. I was in the zone, you know?"

"Yeah. The zone of my personal space."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. But Misty..."

"What is it?"

"You'd better be in the Olympics someday."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Leaf and Gary got off of the bus in Vermillion City, they eagerly walked into the corporate building where they were to meet Anita. She wasn't hard to find. Her bright red hair gave her away. The woman was sitting on a comfy sofa in the lobby, wearing a white dress shirt with a tight, black mini skirt. She eagerly rushed over to them when she saw them walking her way.

"I'm so glad that you decided to do this!" she said, giving them each a kiss on the cheek. It made them both feel awkward, but the woman just went on talking normally. "I love the look you guys have today. Perfect. Of course, they may decide to completely change it, but for now, you look gorgeous!

Gary was wearing faded skinny jeans and a black t-shirt with a dark blue vest. Leaf was wearing tight black jeans and a green tank top with a short, gray leather jacket.

"Let's talk about how this is going to work," Anita said, motioning for them to sit down on the sofa with them. "Today you're going to perform a couple songs for some of the company's big dogs. There will be a keyboard for you, Leaf. If they like you, then we'll get you a contract to sign today. If not, then... well, I don't think you'll have to worry about it. Now, it's important to remember to act natural. They know you guys don't have a lot of experience performing. That will all get taken care of later if they decide to sign you on today. Right now, you just need to focus on your singing and playing. If you guys still sound as good as you did in the bar where I found you, then you'll be fine. You're playing that song today, right?"

"Yep," Gary answered. "We have that song and two others to perform just like you asked. And we've written nine other songs as well just like you advised us to."

"Good. I'm glad to see you're prepared." Anita looked down at her watch. "It's show time. You guys ready?"

"I think so," Leaf answered.

"Okay then. I'll go in first, then I'll come back and get you in just a moment." The woman left them, her red hair swinging behind her.

"Nervous?" Leaf asked Gary.

"Very." The two of them held hands as they waited for Anita to return. Gary stroked Leaf's hand with his thumb, and she leaned her head onto his shoulder.

Anita came back through the door she'd disappeared into and motioned for them to come in. This was it. If things fell apart now, they'd be on their way back to their old lives, where many angry people were sure to greet them.

The room was the perfect size for performing. The acoustics would sound great. Two men and one woman sat at a table, lined up like a panel of judges. Leaf felt like she was auditioning for "Kanto's Got Talent" or "Pokemon Idol." Except there was no real audience to cheer them on. It was cold and silent, and her spine tingles with nerves.

"You may perform whenever you're ready," one of the men said. Anita took a seat in line with the judges and gave Leaf and Gary a wink.

Gary positioned himself in front of one of the microphones, while Leaf stood behind the keyboard and adjusted her microphone for her height. It was now or never. Gary counted them off and then they began to play the song that they had performed at the bar in Castelia City, "Little Talks."

Leaf tried not to look at the judges as she performed, but it was hard not to steal glances. They looked passive, their expressions unreadable. Did they like them? She had no clue, which made her even more nervous. She tried her best to relax.

None of the judges said anything when the song was over. Leaf and Gary stared at each other for a moment, and then they went on to their next song.

The second song went even better than the first. Leaf began gaining confidence, and she could really feel herself engaging in the music, becoming one with the notes. She could feel that Gary was experiencing the same sensation. They were performing even better than they had while they practiced.

As they started their final song, Leaf knew that they were going to kill it. Her fingers were powered by the lightning of desire and raw talent. Her voice was in perfect pitch. Gary sang in harmony with her, his sweet voice blending with her own perfectly. The song was almost over, and the final climatic note was approaching. Just a few more measures...

Everything screeched to a halt on the final note. Leaf froze. She'd hit the wrong keys, ruining the final chord. She could feel Gary staring at her, but she could only stare at the judges. What would they say? Had she ruined their chances with her mistake? She felt as though time must have frozen, because nobody said anything. Anita was biting her lower lip nervously. Finally, one of the male judges spoke.

"You two are going to be the next big thing."

Leaf sighed, feeling the pressure lift off of her. Anita was bouncing excitedly in her chair, proud that she had discovered the hot new talent that would take the music billboards by storm.

"But the last note..." Leaf said hesitantly.

"F*uck the last note," the female judge said. "Everything else leading up to it was spectacular. So you're not perfect. Big deal. You're about as close to perfect as you could be."

Gary ran over to Leaf and hugged her, lifting her into the air and spinning her around and around.

"Hold on, kids. Don't get too excited yet," the third judge said. "You've made it past level one, but there's a lot to be done now. We'll have to hire you a fashion consultant, performance instructor, back up performers... you'll need a bass guitar and drummer permanently, and then we'll be able to get other people as you need them for performances. And then there's the matter of travel. We'll provide you with an RV and a driver. You'll be spending a lot of time in it. And we also need to get all of your information today."

"Information?" Gary asked.

"Yeah. Just minor things for now. Things like your band name, song titles, and we'll be needing your address and contact information so that we can correspond with you. So, what is your band name going to be?"

Leaf and Gary looked at each other. They'd already discussed the subject, and after a lot of brainstorming and arguing, they'd settled on a name that they both really liked.

"Running Red," Gary said. They'd chosen the name for several reasons. Red was the name of Leaf's fiancé. Ex-fiancé. And they were running away from the life they were supposed to live and doing what they felt was right for them. What was in their blood. What was running red throughout themselves.

"It's short. Catchy. Could be better," the woman said. "But the name is up to you. It's definitely what you want?"

"Definitely," they both answered.

They spent the rest of the day filling out contracts, and making arrangements with the company. They would start out opening shows for other bands who were already famous, and eventually they would have their own concerts if they could gain enough popularity. The next step was to create an album. That's what they would spend their next meeting working on.

Leaf and Gary both smiled with the insanity that comes from intense excitement and rewarding success. They'd done it. Running away had paid off. With hard work, their dreams were really going to come true.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

That's chapter two! I hope you guys liked it! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, or favorited this story so far. It means a lot to me. Hopefully more people will show up after I put up more chapters. There was a pretty big surge in views for "Miles Away" after I put the first chapter up, so I think I might be seeing some new readers soon. That makes me really happy.

I love getting to know you guys, so feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think, or whatever else you have to say! I'm glad that I've been seeing a lot of my old readers on the follow and favorite lists, and the enthusiasm in the reviews has been awesome. Thanks so much guys!


	3. Chapter 3: Sensing Evil

Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to get this done. I tried to get a chapter done for Nevermore, but I'm having trouble getting that story rolling along. Good news though! I'll be getting my own laptop soon, so that means I'll no longer have to throw asterisks into the curse words. Yay!

Thanks for being patient with me. Love you guys :)

Also, you'll notice that my user name has changed. I know it might mess a few people up, but I really needed to change it. I just want to be me from now on.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dawn finished up her stretches and then tied her hair back in a ponytail. It was the day of cheerleading tryouts, and she could practically feel the confidence radiating off of her. Her friends as well as her other peers had all been telling her that she was practically guaranteed to get the spot as head cheerleader, and she was feeling really good about the routines she had prepared.

There were twenty-three girls spread all throughout the gymnasium, stretching and putting the finishing touches on their routines. Ursula ran by Dawn and did a graceful cartwheel followed by a backwards flip, landing with only a soft thud. Dawn noted that Ursula had really been practicing, and had improved a lot since last year. Her technique and precision were spot on. However, what everybody said about the coach hating her was true, so Dawn wasn't unsettled by Ursula's little display.

The whistle was blown, and all of the girls gathered around the coach. They were given final instructions, and then they were given the order of the tryouts. Cheerleading tryouts always began with the freshman, and then went in order by class. Dawn wouldn't be going for a while, so she took out her Pokegear to text while keeping one eye on the other girls' tryouts.

One of the freshman girls did really good. She might even make the varsity squad, Dawn observed. The tryouts went on slowly. Dawn was texting Samantha, her half sister who she had met in Undella Town that summer. They had been trying to figure out what the easiest way to tell Dawn's father about her existence was. Every time they talked, Dawn had to reassure her that telling him was the right thing to do. Samantha kept suggesting that they let it go and allow their father to live on in blissful ignorance. No way was Dawn going to let that happen. Samantha deserved to meet her father. And her father deserved to know that he had a second daughter.

Finally, all of the freshman, sophomores, and juniors had finished their cheerleading tryouts. There were only four seniors who had stuck with cheerleading all throughout high school. Dawn just had to be better than three people, and she would win the spot of head cheerleader.

The first girl began her tryout. The girls were required to audition three different things. They were to show off their gymnastic skills, their dance skills, and then their cheering skills. First they would show off their best flips, second they would do a dance routine to a techno song, and third they would perform an actual cheer that the coach had chosen for all of them to learn. The girl performing now did some amazing and complicated gymnastic moves, and Dawn was surprised by her performance. It seemed that all of the senior girls wanted the position of head cheerleader, and they had all prepared to the very best of their ability.

The girl then performed her dance routine. Her moves were snappy and precise, and her smile never wavered. She went to do a flip as her final move, and she didn't quite stick the landing. She stayed up, but she had been forced to take a step forward to catch herself. That would cost her. The girl's cheer performance went well as expected. Any girl who couldn't perform the regular cheers that the squad did wouldn't be allowed to cheer at that week's football game.

The next girl's tryout also went well, but Dawn was confident that she could do better than both of them had. It was down to Ursula and herself now. Ursula would be going next. Dawn watched her like she was a predator hunting her prey.

Ursula got off to a running start, and then performed a series of several front flips followed by a fancy aerial move. She landed lightly and then did her second set, starting with a round off and then following it up with several back flips and a final whip back. When it came to her dancing, Ursula was nearly flawless. Her movements were quick and controlled, and her smile was perfect the whole time. Her last move was very impressive, but she almost stepped off of the mat in the process. If she had stepped off of the mat, she would have been in big trouble. Dawn was sure that the near mishap hadn't gone unnoticed by the coach. Ursula ended with the cheer, and her voice was loud and clear as she did the movements of the routine. When she was finished, many of the girls watching clapped and cheered for her. Dawn felt her stomach become slightly uneasy.

"Dawn Berlitz," the coach called, signaling Dawn to begin her tryout. She took a shaky breath and then made her way to the far side of the gym. She adjusted her shorts, and then she began to run forward. Dawn performed a series of front flips and then followed them up with her own aerial move, just like Ursula had done. For her second run, she did a cartwheel followed by several back flips, and then a double back whip. She heard some of the girls gasp as she successfully completed the move. Dawn smirked, gaining back her confidence. She'd already one-upped Ursula. As long as she could get through the next two parts of the tryout without any mistakes, she'd be head cheerleader.

Dawn positioned herself, and then the music started. She could feel that her body was in sync with the music, which made her feel electrified with energy. Her dips were lower than Ursula's, her moves her more precise than Ursula's, and her smile was brighter than Ursula's. Most of all, Dawn didn't come close to leaving the mat during her routine. At the end of the song, Dawn somersaulted forward and ended in a spilt with her arms raised. She'd been flawless, and gained some more points over Ursula. All that was left was the cheer, and that was the easiest part of tryouts.

She began the cheer confidently, yelling out about the pride of Jubilife City School and how they would win the victory. Her claps were loud, her voice was clear, and her moves were snappy and coordinated. At the end of the cheer, she had to do a back flip. Dawn whipped her body back, and as soon as her feet left the mat she knew that she wasn't going to make it. Her body flipped in the air and then she landed ungracefully onto her hands and feet. The cheer was over, but she hesitated before popping back up to her feet and doing a final pose. She could see the pure joy on Ursula's face, and the surprise on everyone else's. Her heart sank from her chest down into the tips of her toes.

Dawn knew her face had turned bright red with humiliation. She'd messed up a simple back flip. Sure, it happened to everyone once in a while, but not during tryouts! Dawn tried to calm herself down. The good news was that she had completed the actual cheer. Just because she'd messed up the back flip, that didn't mean she'd be unable to cheer at next Friday's game. And she's done so well at everything else that she still had a good shot at being head cheerleader. But would her other performances outweigh the damage she'd just done to her score?

All of the girls had gathered around the coach. Dawn walked up to the circle, staying in the back.

"Results will be posted on the gym door tomorrow morning," she said. "I'm very pleased with this year's tryouts. Thank you for working so hard. We won't have any more practice today. Go on home and enjoy the evening, girls."

Everyone quickly dispersed, and Dawn was the most eager to exit the gym and get away from what had just happened. She ran into the locker room and gathered up her stuff, jamming it all into her gym bag at once. Just as she was making her way to the door, she was intercepted by Ursula.

"Your try out was really good, Dawn. Too bad about that ending though," she said with fake sympathy.

"You did well too," Dawn said, trying to walk past the girl. Ursula sidestepped to cut her off once again.

"You know I'm going to beat you, don't you?" she asked.

"I don't know what's going to happen," Dawn answered. "Will you please let me through now?"

"Listen, bit*ch. Once I'm head cheerleader, there's going to be some changes around here. You're going to have to answer to me just like everyone else, and you'll have to do whatever I say."

"That's not true. Coach is still in charge," Dawn pointed out.

"I see you running extra laps in the future," Ursula hissed under her breath as she allowed Dawn to pass by her. Dawn ignored her and walked out of the gym, making a beeline for her car. She unlocked the doors and then plopped herself down into the driver's seat, violently chucking her gym bag into the back seat. She couldn't stop the angry tears from coming, so she just pressed her forehead into the steering wheel and let them come.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Paul stared sullenly out his window as Reggie pulled into the driveway. He knew that his dad would greet his brother with a smile and a hug, pretending to be the great man that he wasn't. Paul was pleasantly surprised when he saw Reggie's girlfriend, Maylene, get out of the car as well. She always made his visits more bearable.

"Get down here, Paul!" his father yelled up the stairs. Paul grunted to himself and then dragged his feet down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, he was greeted by the sight of his father and brother embracing, just as he had predicted. His father then embraced Maylene as well. Reggie turned towards Paul with open arms, expecting a hug from him as well like he always did. Paul responded as usual by folding his arms around his chest and leaning against the wall, staring at something past Reggie. His brother put his arms down in defeat.

"Hey, Paul. How's it going?" Reggie asked.

"Fine," Paul grunted.

"Now Paul, be nice to your brother," their father said, coming over to Paul and putting his arm around his shoulders. Paul's skin crawled at the unwanted touch, but he forced himself to stay still. If he showed any signs of fear, he would have to pay for it later.

"Dinner is ready in the kitchen," Paul's father said, leading everyone to the table. Paul felt his father's arm tighten around his shoulders as he pushed him along. It was a warning. Paul's heart felt like it was being stretched over and over again like taffy.

The meal went as it always did. Paul poked at his food as he ate it slowly. He didn't want to finish it because it gave him an excuse to not look at the people sitting around him. His father and brother exchanged news politely, and Maylene sometimes had a comment or two to make. But the inevitable always arrived.

"So Paul, are you excited that it's your senior year?" Reggie asked.

"Yeah," Paul answered. He was glad. One more year in this house and then he'd be free. Not even a year, just nine and a half months. But he couldn't hold back the feeling that somehow his father would find a way to control him beyond the house.

"You'll be starting your own pokemon journey soon," Reggie said. "I think you'll become one of the most powerful trainers in all of the regions."

"Just like you?" Paul asked coldly.

"I chose to become a breeder because I found that my passion for raising pokemon surpassed my passion for battling."

"Right."

"How's your girlfriend?" Reggie asked, changing the subject.

"Girlfriend?" his father asked in surprise. Paul cursed in his head. He had meant to keep Dawn a secret from his father.

"Drew told me you met a girl while you were in Unova this summer."

"Yeah. It's not serious though," Paul said. He felt bad saying that about Dawn, but he needed his father to believe that he wasn't close to her.

"So you were just having fun with her?" Maylene asked.

"How much fun _did_ you have with her?" his father asked. Paul shuddered. His father was coming off as trying to be a responsible parent, but he really just wanted to know if Dawn had seen the faint scars on his back. Or if he had told her about the things he'd seen.

"Not much," Paul assured him.

"That's strange," Reggie said. "Drew said that you seemed pretty serious about this girl."

F*uck Drew. Paul couldn't really be mad at him, but he wished that he had told his friend not to go blabbing everything to his brother.

"I don't know. We'll see where it leads," Paul said, playing it safe.

"Maybe you can invite her to come visit sometime," Reggie suggested.

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Maybe because I don't want her to meet you."

A stony silence overcame the room. Paul didn't look up from his plate. He didn't want to see the hurt in his brother's eyes.

"What did I ever do to you?" Reggie asked. "All I ever do is try to spend time with you. I try to be a good brother to you. But you act like I'm a terrible person. You don't want anything to do with me, and I just don't understand why. If I did something to hurt you, then please just tell me what it was so that I can fix it."

Paul could hear the desperation in his brother's voice. His heart clenched. The truth was, Paul didn't hate Reggie. He really just hated how his father had manipulated him. Being around Reggie was a constant reminder of the sick hold that his father had on the both of them. Paul had no answer for Reggie, so he sat in silence. After a few moments, Reggie got up from the table and left the room. Maylene followed to try and comfort him.

Paul stared at his plate. His father rose from his seat and walked over to him, sighing an irritated sigh.

"Look at me." Paul was frozen in fear. His father grabbed the front of his shirt and jerked his head up towards him. "You go apologize to your brother, or I'll beat your a*ss later."

Paul nodded, and then his father let him go. Timidly, Paul left the room and walked down the hallway that Reggie and Maylene had taken. He paused at the corner when he heard Maylene talking to his brother.

"Reggie, listen to me," she said. "Something just isn't right about all of it."

"What makes you think that? Why would you assume that my father is the problem instead of Paul? It's obvious that he just hates me because I try to take care of him and I was always on his back about the whole drug situation. I just figured it was a teenager thing, but... maybe he really wishes he wasn't my brother."

Paul's eyes widened in surprise. Had Maylene actually caught on? Was she actually able to detect the evil in his father?

"I'm not saying that your father is the problem. It just seems odd to me. I know you say Paul has always been a shy, closed off person, but you also say that he got a lot worse when your mother died. Don't you think it's possible that your mother was some sort of buffer between the two of them?"

"Of course he got worse after Mom died. Who wouldn't? I had to go through a mourning period too, but I didn't shut the fricken world out. And what could my father possibly do to make Paul act the way he does? My father is a good man, Maylene," Reggie insisted.

"Reggie... I can feel the tension between them. And your father gives me a bad vibe as well. I'm not sure what it is about him, but he always seems so fake. Like his actions around us are forced. And he has this look in his eyes... I think there's more to Paul's bad attitude than just being a rebellious teenager."

"I don't want to hear it, Maylene. I love you, but it really makes me mad when you insult my father's integrity like that."

"Reggie. Why would you look up to your father so much and see him as a great man while your brother seems to despise him? Don't you think that if he was truly a great man, Paul would look up to him too? And haven't you noticed how Paul seems to be on edge around your father?"

"Paul is too stubborn to look up to anyone. He's just a pompous teenager who enjoys tearing everyone else down in order to build himself up. This conversation is over, and we're going home." With that, Reggie stomped out the door. Maylene sighed and followed him. Paul could feel his blood simmering beneath his skin. If Reggie's girlfriend could see the truth, then why couldn't Reggie see it himself? Why was he so attached to their father that he couldn't see the horror in Paul's eyes?

"Did you apologize to him?"

Paul whipped around to meet his father's dark face.

"No... He left," Paul explained.

"Look what you've done." Paul's father began to unbuckle his belt. Paul could feel his back flinch instinctively. He backed up against the wall, but nothing could save him. His father grabbed him by the hair and drug him into the living room, pushing him face down into the couch. He pulled Paul's shirt up and began beating his bare back with the belt aggressively. Paul scrunched his eyes shut tight and clenched his teeth in anguish. The fibers of the couch rubbed against his face and chest as every bit of his skin flinched. The pain was unbearable. He could feel the leather digging into his skin. All he could do was endure the assault until his father calmed down.

Soon, his father stopped hitting him. Paul could feel him move away from the couch. Both of them were breathing heavily - Paul in pain, and his father in anger.

"You can stay home from school tomorrow," he said coldly, and then he left Paul alone. For several minutes, Paul had to lay immobile on the couch, his pain too great for him to even think about moving. In truth, his father had probably only hit him about five times, but it felt as though he had been beaten over and over again until his back was raw.

Once Paul was able to move, he slowly rose to his feet, his face contorted in an endless grimace. He felt the burn with every movement, and it nearly killed him with each step he took up the stairs. In the bathroom, he carefully pulled off his shirt and examined the damage. A few long lines of raw skin covered his back. There was blood, and his shirt was stained. He dropped the shirt into the garbage can and then removed the rest of his clothing.

Paul winced as he stepped into the shower. He'd turned the water to cold so that it would be less painful than hot water, but the water pelting his back still caused fresh pain to explode over his wounds. Tears fell from his eyes as he stood under the streams of water and held back most of his moans. He stayed in for the least amount of time possible, and then went straight to his room. He pulled on a pair of boxer shorts and then laid face down on his bed, allowing himself to sob into his pillow . Why was his life like this? What had he done to deserve this kind of torture? This h*ell?

Why had he promised to stop smoking pot?

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"It'll be okay, Dawn. No way will the coach pick Ursula over you! Dawn... please stop crying." May was comforting Dawn as she cried into one of the blankets from her bed. The girl had driven straight to May's house after the terrible day she'd had at cheerleading practice. Misty had come over as well, and the three girls were sitting in a circle on May's bed.

"I can't help it," Dawn sobbed softly, hiccupping after her sentence.

"Will you stop if we play video games? Dance? Eat a bunch of comfort food?" Misty asked, trying to find something that would distract her friend and make her feel better. Dawn shook her head at each suggestion.

"You have to calm down, Dawn... If you do, I'll... I'll... I'll let you give me a total makeover!" Misty suggested desperately. Both May and Dawn stared at her in shock.

"You mean it?" Dawn asked, still stiffling.

"Sure," Misty said, not really sure at all.

Acting quickly, May bounced off of the bed and grabbed her makeup kit, as well as any other beauty products she could find.

"I don't have as many as you do, Dawn, but it should be enough to do whatever you want." Dawn squealed a little bit in excitement and then got to work on her soon to be masterpiece.

Misty smiled nervously as Dawn began to straighten her hair. Once that was done, she moved on to doing Misty's makeup.

"No peeking, May! You can't look until it's all done!" Dawn hummed.

"Okay, okay," May said happily. She took a bottle of red nail polish and began to paint her toenails while she waited.

Misty could feel Dawn rubbing and brushing all kinds of things onto her face. She desperately hoped that she wouldn't come out of this looking like the next Lady Gaga. It took a long time, but when Dawn was finished, she took Misty's hands and lead her over to the mirror hanging on May's wall.

"TAH-DAH!" Dawn shouted, glowing as Misty looked at herself. Misty was shocked. She barely even recognized herself. She'd worn things like light foundation and a little mascara before, but Dawn had really caked the stuff on this time. She looked like a totally different girl. Her red hair was straight and long enough to reach down past her shoulders. Her skin glowed flawlessly and her eyes were highlighted with thick eye liner and mascara that made her eye lashes reach far beyond what she thought was possible. Perhaps most impressive of all were her lips. Dawn had covered them in a dark red lipstick that really made them pop. Misty stared into her reflection without even blinking. For the first time in her life, she felt like a beautiful woman. She'd never be able to do this to herself every day, but maybe once in a while...

"Oh, Misty! You look amazing!" May gasped. "You did awesome, Dawn!"

"Let's send a picture to Ash!" Dawn squealed. Misty laughed and handed her blue Pokegear to her friend. "Smile pretty!" Dawn teased. She took the picture and then sent it to Ash.

"He's going to freak out!" May said excitedly. Soon, a response from Ash came. Misty opened the message and then started laughing so hard that she had to sit on the floor.

"He asked me who it is!" she laughed. "He doesn't even realize that it's me!" The girls all bent over in hysterical laughter. Suddenly, Misty's Pokegear started ringing.

"Is he calling you now?" Dawn laughed.

"I don't recognize this number," Misty said. "Hello?" she said into the Pokegear. Her face turned pale and her eyes widened in shock, and May and Dawn exchanged a glance.

"It's Leaf," Misty said.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

That's it for chapter three! I hope you guys liked it!

Now that it's summer, I should be able to update more often. I'll try and work on Nevermore, but it might be a while before I update that story. I have a pretty good direction to take with this one, so you should be seeing more updates in the near future.

Don't be afraid to leave a comment in the reviews! I'd love to hear what you guys are thinking so far :)


	4. Chapter 4: An Angry Red Conversation

Hey everyone! You'll notice a few changes I've made. For anyone who hasn't noticed yet, I've changed my user name. Also, I put new images in for the covers of both this story, and 'My Summer Away.' Sorry for any inconvenience!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far! I know I am :)

Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hi, Misty... It's Leaf." She listened to the silence on the other end, her heart pounding nervously.

"It's Leaf," she heard Misty say eventually.

"Oh, are May and Dawn there too?" Leaf asked timidly. She'd only been expecting to talk to Misty. She thought about hanging up, but her mind was frozen. She couldn't have made herself hang up on her friends no matter how badly she wanted to.

She stared out the window, watching for Gary in case he would return early. She hated going against what they had agreed to, but Leaf couldn't take it anymore. She needed to talk to her friends. She needed to tell them all about what was happening.

"Leaf... where are you?" Misty asked.

"I can't tell you that," Leaf said regretfully. "But I'm safe. And we have everything we need. So you don't have to worry about that."

"Don't tell me not to worry," Misty said. Leaf could hear the anger in her voice. "You can't tell me not to worry when you f*ucking disappeared and didn't tell us anything about where you were going."

"I had to do it, Misty."

"You did not! You did not have to-" Misty was cut off, and soon her voice was replaced by May's.

"Hey, Leaf. We're all so glad that you're safe."

"Yeah. Misty sounds really glad," Leaf said sarcastically.

"You can't blame her for being angry," May said.

"I know."

"We miss you a lot, Leaf. Your parents have been going crazy trying to find you."

"Really? We haven't run in to any problems here in- I mean, where we are," Leaf said, catching herself. "I guess the search hasn't reached out to every region yet."

"Can't you at least tell us which region you're in?" May begged.

"No. I can't. But I'm sure you'll find out soon enough."

"What do you mean?"

"Gary and I signed on with a record company yesterday. We're going to start touring next month." There was once again silence from the other end.

"Leaf? What did you say to May? She froze up." Dawn. Now Dawn was talking to her.

"I told her that Gary and I... we signed on with a record company, and we'll start touring next month."

"Oh my god!" Dawn squealed. "That's incredible, Leaf! I can't believe it!" There was a flurry of excited squeals on the other end. May must have regained her ability to speak and Misty's anger must have subsided.

"Leaf? Leaf is it true?" Misty asked into the phone.

"Yes, Misty. It's true." Leaf couldn't help letting a few tears slide down her face.

"I'm happy for you. I really am," Misty said. "I was mad at you for running away because I didn't think you guys would really become famous, and I was so mad that you'd abandoned your friends just to chase some stupid fantasy. But now that it's actually happening... I'm sorry, Leaf. I still miss you like h*ell, but if you're following your dream, then... how could I stand in your way?"

Leaf was full on crying now. "Thank you, Misty. Thank you. I miss you all so much, and it hasn't been easy at all."

The girls spent a long time talking about everything that had happened to Leaf in the past few weeks, and by the end of the conversation, they were all feeling a lot better.

"I'm so glad I called you guys," Leaf told them, wiping the last of the moisture from her face.

"We're glad too," Dawn said. "You and Gary are going to be amazing musicians!"

"We'll totally buy all of your posters and CD's and stuff!" May promised cheerily.

"And keep Gary in line, okay, Leafy?" Misty added.

"You know I will! I'll call you guys again real soon, okay?" Leaf said. The girls said a quick goodbye and then hung up. Leaf breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time in weeks, she was feeling like her old self. Leaving with Gary had been the most difficult thing she'd ever had to do, and it had taken a real toll on her. Being able to talk to her friends and knowing that they didn't hate her running away put her at ease.

As she was thinking, Gary pulled into the driveway. He'd borrowed his grandfather's car so that he could go pick up a few things that they needed from Viridian City. Leaf became concerned when she saw how fast he had pulled in and then he slammed on the breaks. She knew something was wrong when he came flying out of the car and burst through the front door.

"Gary? What's wrong?" Leaf asked.

"They've reached us," he said breathlessly. "The search for us has reached Viridian City."

"Already? Did they see you?"

"No, but it was a pretty close call. I'm surprised no one spotted us while we were in Vermillion City."

"What do we do?"

"For now, we stay. We'll be on the road soon anyway."

"But what about our trips to Vermillion? How will we avoid being spotted if we constantly have to be moving back and forth?"

Gary remained silent. He had no answer for her question. Leaf already knew the answer though. They had to move to Vermillion City. She knew that Gary had the same answer in his mind, but he was reluctant to accept it. It was easier for Leaf to think about. She'd left behind all of her friends and family already. But Gary still had his grandfather. Professor Oak was the last bit of his old life that he could hold onto here. And the man meant a lot to him. Professor Oak had taught him a lot about pokemon, and what it meant to be a trainer. He had been the inspiration for his plans to become a pokemon professor just like him.

Leaf got up off of the couch and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his torso.

"I know it's hard," she murmured. "But we're so close to achieving our dream. We can't afford to risk being caught now." She ran one of her hands down his back and around to his abs. He grasped her hand to stop her movement.

"Don't you think we might be safer here?" Gary tried to reason. Leaf shook her head.

"If they're looking for us in Viridian, then they'll be looking for us here too. And Pallet Town is so small, there'd be no way to hide from them. At least in Vermillion we can blend into the crowd and hide in any old apartment anywhere. And I'm sure Anita can hook us up with some sort of protection."

"But surely there will be more people looking for us there..."

"Listen to me, Gary. I know it's hard to leave your grandfather behind, but you have to do what's best for us. If we get caught, then our dream is over and we'll both be in for a truck load of trouble back home. Our parents will make sure that we never see each other again, and even if we did meet again, my parents are sure to force me into marrying Red the second I get home. I love you, Gary. I left everything behind for you. Now it's time for you to do the same for me. And if you don't, and we get caught, I will personally kick your a*ss."

Gary stared at her, a smile breaking out on his face.

"Now that's the Leaf I know and love," he said. "We both haven't been quite ourselves since we got to Pallet Town, but just now, the old Leaf came shining through. I want to be the old Gary for you too. I want to make fun of you and butt heads with you all the way to our wedding day."

Leaf smiled a genuine smile for the first time in weeks.

"Me too," she said. Gary pulled her in for another hug, and she could feel the tension in his body. She knew he was in pain. Even in their moment of happiness, he was still falling apart.

"I understand that it hurts," Leaf whispered. She could feel that Gary was on the edge of shedding tears, but she knew that he was too prideful to cry in front of her.

"How am I going to tell Gramps?" he asked sullenly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!" Dawn yelled as she ran out the door. She threw her book bag into the back of her car and then backed out of the driveway without even checking for traffic. She gunned it all the way to school, pulling off lots of rolling stops and running several red lights along the way. It was a miracle that she didn't crash into anything, though she did cut off one car that suspiciously looked a lot like Kenny's.

"Serves him right," Dawn muttered. She needed to get to school right away. The doors would open at 7:30 and then she would finally be able to see the results of the cheerleading tryouts. The pink pokeball charm that hung from her front mirror swung back and forth like a pendulum, reminding her that time was ticking away. "Come on, come on," she chanted, waiting behind a car while it stopped at a stop sign and proceeded to turn right very slowly.

When she arrived at the school, Dawn sped into the parking lot and parked her car right next to the gym doors. Another car had pulled in from the other direction exactly at the same time. Dawn glanced over at the white car next to her and saw none other than Ursula staring back at her. The other girl narrowed her red eyes at her. Dawn glared back. They both got out of their cars and then dashed into the building to read the results. When they reached the gym door that connected to the main hallway, they both stared at it blankly. There was no paper hanging there. They opened the doors to see if there was something on the other side, but the door was bare on its opposite side as well. They checked the locker room, the bleachers, and even the restroom as well, but they couldn't find the results anywhere.

"What is this madness?" Ursula huffed. "She said they'd be up this morning, so where are they?!"

Just then, the two girls heard the gym doors open. The cheerleading coach peeked in and saw the two girls standing together. Hastily, the woman stuck the paper to the door and then ran out of the room, wanting to get away from the nuclear explosion that was surely about to happen when the two rivals saw the results.

Dawn and Ursula shared one final glare before dashing over to the paper. Dawn felt her heart beating rapidly as she read.

_Congratulations to this year's cheerleading captain, Dawn Berlitz! _she read across the top. And Ursula had placed just underneath her in the rankings.

"Yes!" Dawn cheered. She was so excited that she had achieved her goal. She had been worried after making that huge mistake in her audition, but now she knew that she had truly come out on top.

"You'll pay for this," Ursula hissed. "Just because you're the coach's favorite, it doesn't mean that you're a better cheerleader than me. You got lucky this time, that's all." The girl huffed away, leaving Dawn to feel uneasy for a few seconds. Her joy was so strong though that in a matter of seconds she had forgotten all about Ursula.

"I have to go tell Misty and May!" Dawn ran down the hallway, searching for her friends. She found them at their lockers, grabbing the books they'd need for their morning classes. "Guys, I'm the cheerleading captain!" she shouted. Misty and May cheered and threw their books on the ground, and then the three girls jumped up and down in a circle gleefully.

"We told you you'd be the best!" May said.

"I know! I didn't worry the whole time!" Dawn answered. The three girls laughed.

Their happiness was suddenly interrupted by Dawn's Pokegear dinging.

"Probably a text from Paul," she said. "I can't wait to tell him the news!" But when she opened the message it wasn't from Paul. It was from a number she didn't recognize. She showed the message to her friends.

"Your presence is requested at the Green Residence this afternoon at 3:00 p.m." Misty read aloud. Just then, her pokegear dinged as well. "It's the same message," she told them.

"Well, I'm feeling left out," May joked. Her Pokegear then dinged as well. "Wow, they heard me say that all the way across town!" she said with a laugh. Misty and Dawn sighed at the brunette's humor.

"What do you suppose Leaf's parents want now?" Dawn asked.

"Who knows? But whatever they ask us, nobody tells them that she called us yesterday, right?"

"Right," Dawn and May replied.

"Okay. See you guys after school then." The three girls gathered up their things and then headed off to their separate classes. Dawn was still feeling high off of the good news from that morning, but another thought was now wrestling for dominance in her mind. What did Leaf's parents want this time?

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

May pulled into the Green's driveway behind Misty and in front of Dawn. The mansion seemed as though it were even bigger than it used to be. The statue garden out front looked as miraculous as ever, and May remembered the many birthday parties Leaf had hosted every summer here at her home.

One of the Green's butlers was waiting for them, and he showed them where to park before leading them inside. May shuddered at the feeling of all the unnecessarily large rooms. It felt cold and empty inside the mansion, especially without Leaf's presence. The girls were lead through the estate to the back deck where Leaf's parents were sitting around a glass table shaded by an awning. Another man who looked slightly older than the girls themselves was also present.

"Thank you for coming, girls. Please have a seat," Leaf's mother greeted them, motioning to the empty seats around the table. The woman, like Leaf, was a dark brunette with pale skin. She wore a blue sundress and had her hair pulled up in a fancy style one might see at prom. Leaf's father was a lighter brunette, and was clean shaven and dressed in a suit.

"We're happy to help you with anything you need, Mrs. Green," Dawn said politely as the three girls sat down.

"That's much appreciated," Mrs. Green said. "Now girls, did Leaf ever speak to any of you about her engagement?"

"Engagement?" May asked.

"Engagement to who? Gary? Did they get married when they ran away or something?" Misty asked in shock.

"No, no. Nothing like that... yet," Mr. Green corrected them. "You see, our daughter was engaged long before this incident," he explained.

"She never said anything to us," Dawn said. May could hear the sadness in her voice. All three of them were thinking the same thing. They were overcome with feelings of sadness, pity, and outrage at this news.

"This here is Red," Leaf's mother said, nodding to the young man next to her. "He is Leaf's fiancé." May looked him over. He wore a red polo shirt and black dress pants. His eyes were a deep shade of red that seemed to pierce a person's soul. The man wasn't unattractive. Actually, he was pretty good looking. But who knew what his personality was like? Whatever the case, May knew one thing: Leaf didn't want to marry this guy.

"As you can imagine, Red is very upset that our daughter has chosen to run away with another man. His parents are very upset too. Their wedding was to be next summer. We had made all of the arrangements in advance and everything. Now, we know that our daughter was really looking forward to marrying Red, so we'd like to know what you girls haven't told us yet."

"What do you mean?" Misty asked, raising one eyebrow.

"We want to know everything about this Gary Oak who has manipulated our daughter into running away with him like some stupid rendition of Romeo and Juliet. Tell us exactly how he seduced our daughter and how she could possibly agree to go with him on this ridiculous quest for fame!"

The three girls looked at each other angrily. Leaf's parents were completely clueless about their daughter.

"Mrs. Green, you and your husband have it all wrong," Dawn said.

"That's right," May confirmed. "Gary didn't manipulate Leaf into falling in love with him. She made that decision herself, and it wasn't easy for her."

"Love?" Leaf's father asked. "You girls shouldn't throw that term around so loosely. Leaf only had some silly summer infatuation with the boy. Love is something that comes from years of being with someone and recommitting to them over and over again through the trials of life."

The girls were surprised to hear such an honest answer from the man, but that didn't change their views on the situation.

"Maybe so, Mr. Green, but do you really think Leaf could've learned to love someone in an arranged marriage?" Dawn asked.

"Of course she could have!" Red spoke for the first time. "When we met we got along really well, and we've always gotten along well throughout our engagement. When we married, we would be rich, and Leaf would want for nothing. She would have been very happy with me. I would've made sure of it."

"Enough of this!" Misty yelled. May winced. Misty had lost her temper, and now both sides of the argument would suffer.

"Leaf never loved this guy!" she said, gesturing to Red with her thumb. "She would've told us all about him if she did! And she chose Gary over him because she loves him. If you knew anything about your daughter, you'd know that logic has always made her decisions for her throughout life, and she never does a d*amn thing unless she's sure that it'll turn out okay for her in the end. She'd only do something as stupid and reckless as running away with Gary if she really really loved him. He didn't manipulate her, or seduce her in any way! For god's sake, the two of them fought like a couple of wild Ursarings the entire time they were together! But that's why Leaf loves him so much. Gary has given her the kind of excitement, and the kind of equally matched intelligence that she's never had in this sad place. And I don't know why you're so opposed to the idea that Leaf likes Gary Oak. His family is filthy rich just like yours, so you get what you want and Leaf gets what she wants. So you should kick this sad sack to the curb and just support your daughter's excellent decision."

"I'll have you thrown in prison," Red muttered, his eyes flashing with anger. "Insulting my intelligence and my character! I'll, I'll -"

"Calm down, Red," Leaf's mother commanded. She looked at Misty coolly. "You have the nerve to suggest that we don't care about our daughter's happiness. And that we don't even know her at all. We may be wealthy, but we're not heartless. We want our daughter to come home because we love her, and we miss her, and we want to give her to best life she could have. She is ditching her high school education, and chasing a dream that will leave her poor and struggling. No parent would want that for their child. If you cannot see how we feel, then please leave. You are of no help to us."

May could see the slight shame on Misty's face, but also the angry determination.

"No one should be forced to marry someone they don't want to," she said. "I don't blame Leaf one bit for running away from this life." With that, she turned and made her way through the mansion doors to leave.

Dawn and May stood up.

"We do feel sorry for you, but I think we both agree with Misty," May explained. The two girls followed Misty back through the mansion. Maybe Leaf hadn't taken her parents feeling into consideration, but her parents had never considered her feelings either. Leaf had spent her entire life pleasing her parents. She deserved this one chance to please herself instead. And as her friend, May would back up Leaf's decision all the way.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

I promise to give some more details about what's happening with the boys next chapter. I hope you all like this story so far!

Thank you to everyone who is still with me. I really appreciate all of you who review, follow, and favorite my stories. The more that happens, the more people will read it, so the support you guys give means a lot to me! Thank you to every single one of my readers.

Also, I'll be at camp next week, so if I don't update by this Saturday, then there probably won't be a new chapter until the next Tuesday or Wednesday. Sorry!


	5. Chapter 5: Background Players

Hey guys! I was really happy to come back from camp and see a few more reviews, likes, and follows, so thanks a bunch! As promised, here's your next update!

There's going to be a rather large time skip now that the story has been pretty much set up. And unlike in My Summer Away, there will no longer be any mention of real artists in the story so as to avoid problems. The artist I mention in here is made up.

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"And here is the final piece of the puzzle!" Anita exclaimed excitedly. She skipped over to the door with stars in her eyes. Gary groaned inwardly, but reminded himself that all of this prep work was nearly over. Being around Anita so much was driving him crazy. The woman had the ability to be serious when it counted, but otherwise she was a bit overly eccentric.

Anita threw open the door of Gary and Leaf's apartment to reveal a girl with brown pigtails and a boy with black hair that fell in spikes standing in the hallway. The girl wore a red vest over a black long sleeved t-shirt and ripped skinny jeans with black knee-high boots. The boy wore a red t-shirt with a gray jacket and black cargo pants.

"Leaf and Gary, meet your official bass guitar player and drummer!"

"Hi! My name is Lyra!" the girl said, rushing forward to shake Gary's hand. And this is Ethan." The guy followed behind her, and shook Gary's hand without a word. Lyra elbowed him sharply.

"It's great to meet you," he said.

"Same here," Gary said as he returned his handshake. "I'm Gary and this is Leaf."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Which of you is the guitarist and which is the drummer?" Leaf asked as she shook both of their hands.

"I'm the guitarist," Lyra answered. "And Ethan may be quiet, but he's one h*ell of a drummer." The boy nodded modestly. "Show a bit more confidence!" Lyra urged him. "They'll think Anita found you on the street if you keep acting so meek."

"They'll be perfect for you," Anita assured both Gary and Leaf as Lyra continued to lecture Ethan. She wasn't being mean, and she wasn't really angry - it was more like she was giving a firm and friendly pep talk to the quiet boy that some people might see as nagging, but really wasn't.

"I'm sure they're both fantastic. Thanks, Anita!" Leaf said with a smile. Gary smiled too. Leaf really had seemed to perk up lately. He had a sneaking suspicion that she had broken their agreement and called up her friends a while back, but strangely enough he didn't mind. He was just glad that his girlfriend was more or less back to normal. He'd been thinking about calling his own friends himself, but he couldn't bring himself to go through with it yet. It was easier for girls. All they had to do was chat away and everything would fix itself eventually. Guys weren't really that great at communicating. Especially his particular group of friends.

It had been hard enough already saying goodbye to his grandfather three weeks ago. The image of Professor Oak's sad face was forever burned into his mind. The only thing that kept him from falling apart was the knowledge that it wasn't goodbye forever. Just for now. Once he and Leaf gained some fame, no one would be able to touch them. Not even their parents. H*ell, in six days no one would be able to touch them. They were heading out in their band trailer and security guards had already been hired. Their parents were running out of time fast.

"I never thought I'd get to play for a band who's opening for Jessica Hills!" Lyra said excitedly. Her eyes sparkled in awe. I've always been such a big fan of hers."

Gary agreed. It was pretty amazing to be opening for one of the Pokemon world's biggest rock stars. Well, more like alternative rock. Jessica Hills could be seen on posters all over every city in every region. She was beautiful with hot pink hair and a curvy body that women envied and men desired. On top of that, her voice was very powerful and she could play electric guitar like no one else. It was rumored that Jessica had grown up with the Unova gym leader, Roxie, and the two of them performed together frequently.

"We're almost all set to start touring," Anita said, scrolling through her pokegear. "We've hired security, a driver for the trailer, a fashion consultant, people to work lights and sound and all that good stuff, and we're also well under way with producing your first album. It should be in stores about three months into the tour. At some point we'll need to find time to record the rest of your songs now that Ethan and Lyra are permanently in the group."

"I'm sure there'll be time for it. It's so hard to believe this is really happening," Leaf said. Gary put his arm around her. After signing contract after contract, going through several photo shoots, and practicing until their fingers and throats felt numb, they were finally going to be performing in front of an actual crowd.

"Hey, you guys really do have talent," Anita said. "All four of you do. Of course you two will be the ones front and center, but Ethan and Lyra will get attention as well. By the way, I'm sorry to spring this on you, but since you guys only have six days to get acquainted, I think it would be a good idea for Ethan and Lyra to stay here at the apartment with you."

"Well, this is escalating quickly," Gary deadpanned. Leaf punched his shoulder.

"We'd love to have them!" she chirped. Lyra can stay in my room with me and Ethan can sleep in Gary's room."

Gary groaned inwardly. He'd just grown used to having Leaf sneak into his bed at night, and he was reluctant to give that up. He loved her scent of peaches and vanilla, and the way her hair rubbed against his face softly when they cuddled. Her warmth was better than any blanket could provide on its own. Now he'd be in bed with a man instead of his soft, beautiful girlfriend. No way was he going to cuddle with Ethan.

"I have to go and finish some paperwork now, so I'll see you guys later," Anita said, pulling on her jacket and heading out the door.

"Bye, Anita! Thank you!" Leaf said as the red-haired girl left. Leaf then turned toward Gary and shot him a stern look before dragging Lyra off to her bedroom. Gary turned to look at Ethan who seemed a bit relieved that the girls were gone.

"Do you keep any alcohol in the fridge?" Ethan asked.

"No. The drinking age in Kanto is nineteen and Leaf and I are both eighteen," Gary said.

"Ah. So you guys are legal in Unova and Kalos, and nowhere else," Ethan grinned. "I'm nineteen, so I'll be picking up some beer later. Feel free to get into it if you want to."

Gary was slightly surprised, but more curious than anything else.

"You were really quiet five minutes ago. Now you're talking about underage drinking like it's no big deal, and you seem really relaxed."

"It isn't a big deal. Don't even try to tell me you've never had any before. And quit looking at me like I'm some kind of raging drunk. I drink to get buzzed, not smashed. As for my being quiet before... that's Lyra's fault."

"What do you mean?" Gary asked.

"Sure, I'm a pretty chill person by nature, but I'm not shy or anything. She never lets me get a word in edgewise, so I'm just used to barely talking when she's around. Then she expects me to speak and feels the need to give me bruises," he explained, rubbing his arm where Lyra had elbowed him.

Gary smirked. He liked this guy.

"So are you and her... together?" he asked.

"No!" he answered a little too quickly.

"Right."

"Seriously, dude. We aren't together. We've been friends since forever, but a couple? I don't think it would ever work."

"Sounds like denial to me. But I'll let you off easy," Gary said with a smirk. Ethan glared at him, but he seemed grateful that they were dropping the subject.

"Oh, and by the way," Ethan said. "I am _not _getting in bed with you. I'll sleep on the couch."

"That's fine by me," Gary said. Correction: he really, really liked this guy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I can't wait to see you, Friday," Dawn said into her Pokegear. She was talking to Paul as she walked outside to get the mail. The upcoming football game was to be against Veilstone City, and the girls were all going up to watch the game with their boyfriends. Dawn would have to cheer throughout the game though. Paul had promised to sit on the visitor's side of the field to be with her in-between cheers. Drew would be playing in the game, so May would sit with Misty, Ash, and Paul.

"I can't wait to see you either. I bet you're adorable in your s*lutty little cheerleading outfit."

Dawn bit the inside of her cheek lightly and narrowed her eyes.

"You sound like my dad," she whined.

"I can't help it, Troublesome. I don't like knowing that other guys are leering at you, hoping that you'll do a flip so they can see up your skirt."

"I'm sorry, Paul. I don't really like it either, but I have to wear the uniform."

"I know, I know..." Paul sighed. "But that doesn't mean I can't express how I feel about it."

"Right. I do appreciate that you're protective of me." Dawn said. "Just don't go too overboard in your protectiveness."

"I'll go overboard if I want to. I know how to swim."

"That would be smart if it actually made sense with the situation."

"It's a metaphor, Troublesome."

"I know, Paul. And I don't think you want to try swimming in my wrath."

"I've swam in your wrath plenty of times."

"True. My wrath is what made you fall in love with me."

"Not exactly."

"Okay, so what _did_ make you fall in love with me?" Dawn asked innocently. There was a pause on the other end.

"I don't like this game," Paul said.

"Oh come on, Paul. Can't you say something romantic once in a while?"

"Of course I can, Troublesome. Not when you force me to though."

"Fine, fine," Dawn said. She opened her mailbox and grabbed the mail that was inside before turning to go back into the house.

"I do love you, Dawn."

"I know, Paul. I love you too."

"I have to go now. Dad just got home."

"Okay. Be strong," Dawn said. They made a kissy noise into their pokegears before hanging up.

As Dawn went back inside, she began sorting through the mail. Most of it was for her parents, but she was happy to see that her issue of Pokemon Coordinators Monthly had arrived. There was also an envelope addressed to her, but she figured it was just another college sending her a brochure. She took both items upstairs to her room. She flopped down on her bed and opened the letter first. She began reading it carelessly, but then suddenly froze. A chill ran up her spine, and she wished that it would go straight to her brain and knock her out. The letter was from Paul's dad.

_Dear Ms. Berlitz,_

_ It has come to my attention that you are in a relationship with my son, Paul. I strongly advise you to break things off with him, or you and him both will face the consequences. Paul is not to be dating anyone. I am sorry that he strung you along all this time. Trust me. He does not care about you. He is only using you as a release for all of his negative emotions. I'm sure you've noticed what an angry, twisted person he is. Please terminate your relationship with my son immediately. It's in your best interests._

_ Gregory Stone_

Dawn trembled in anger. How could Paul's dad be so cruel? How could he send her a threatening letter full of lies like this? And what exactly was he planning to do if she didn't break up with Paul? Did he really have the power to hurt her? He definitely had the power to hurt Paul. Dawn pulled out her pokegear to text Paul about the situation. One thing was for sure: she was not going to break up with her boyfriend over this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Paul and Ash waited by the gate of the football stadium for Misty and May to arrive. The two girls were driving up to Veilstone together while Dawn was on one of the busses with the rest of the cheerleaders.

When the two girls arrived, Ash ran over to Misty and hugged her. He picked her up and spun her around before giving her a kiss. May walked over to where Paul was standing.

"Don't expect a greeting like that from me," he said dryly.

"I think Drew would kill you," the friendly brunette answered with a laugh.

"Yeah. Well I owe your boyfriend a punch to the gut anyway," he informed her.

"What did Drew do?" May asked in surprise. Paul only grunted before turning to go purchase his ticket for the game.

"What's his problem?" May asked Ash as he and Misty approached her.

"I dunno. He's been like that for a few weeks. He got even worse this week for some reason."

Paul could hear them talking, but he chose to ignore them. It was none of their business why he was acting the way he was. After the others paid to get in, the four of them went up into the visitor's stands and sat right in front of where the cheerleaders did their thing. Dawn waved to Paul and he waved back. As much as he hated her cheerleading outfit, he had to admit that she looked really good in it. Her hair was pulled up into one of those bouncy ponytails with a ribbon. Dawn walked up to the stands and tilted her head up at him.

"Hi, Paul!" she said. Paul got off of the bleachers and reached down to hug her as best he could. At the least, they were able to press their faces together.

"I've missed you so much," he mumbled.

"Same here," she whispered.

"Eww. What are you doing?" a voice asked. Dawn and Paul looked up to see Ursula glaring at them with narrowed red eyes.

"Ah. This must be the b*itch you destroyed at cheerleading tryouts," Paul said.

"And you must be Dawn's boyfriend," Ursula said with a grunt. Suddenly, her demeanor changed. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, her voice sickeningly sweet. The girl turned and walked away, twirling one of her giant pig tails with her hand.

"That was scary," Paul said.

"I have a bad feeling," Dawn agreed.

"Look! It's Drew!" May yelled, pointing to one of the football players on the field.

"Yep, number twenty-three," Ash agreed. "Hey, I need to go get some snacks from the concession stand! Anyone else want anything?"

"Get me whatever you're having," Misty said.

"Bad idea," Paul said as Ash dashed away. He came back soon with his arms full of food.

"I got us nachos, hot dogs, popcorn, chocolate, Skittles, soft pretzels, and two drinks each!" Ash said proudly, dumping the pile of food between himself and Misty.

"Awesome!" Misty said, biting into her hot dog right away.

"I can't believe Ash found someone who can keep up with him," Paul said, shaking his head.

"Drew just scored a touchdown!" May said excitedly. "Go, Drew!" Everyone around her glared at the poor girl.

"Don't forget that every time you cheer for Drew you're cheering for the opposite school," Misty said.

"Who cares? Drew is amazing!"

"You're making everyone sick," Paul grumbled.

"I don't get what's so great about you." Everyone turned to see a guy with brown hair glaring at Paul. "You're an a*sshole. And Dawn deserves somebody better than you."

"F*uck off, Kenny!" Misty said. "Don't cause trouble where you aren't wanted."

Paul stood up and crossed his arms to restrain himself from punching the guy. So this was Dawn's ex boyfriend... Not much to look at. Short. Ugly. No wonder he'd been able to win her heart while she was still dating him.

"Maybe she does deserve better," Paul admitted. "But if you think you're that better person, then you're f*ucking stupid. Dawn chose me. She loves me because she wants to. And she doesn't love you because she doesn't want to. If you can't accept that, then nobody has time for you and your s*hit. I realize that I'm lucky to have someone like her. And I'd carry her on my back across every region if I had to. I don't know whether you'd do the same or not, but she's not yours to carry anymore. Dawn is _mine_. And if you don't leave her the f*uck alone I will break your thumbs, got it?"

"Paul."

He looked over to see Dawn staring at him. Her blue eyes were a mixture of love and tears.

"Nice going. You made her cry," Kenny said.

"I'm crying because Paul, my boyfriend, just said one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. And he is very deserving of me, whatever he may believe. And as to whatever you believe, Kenny... Nobody gives a single f*uck. Get out of here."

"You guys won't last another month," Kenny grunted. He stepped closer to Paul so that he was right in his face. Paul could see nothing but the boy's eyes and he could feel his breath on his chin. "And when Dawn dumps you like you deserve, I'm going to get right back in there and sweep her off her feet all over again. Then we'll see who's d*ick she's sucking. It was nice to meet you, a*sshole." Kenny roughly grabbed Paul's hand and shook it firmly.

Everyone stared after Kenny with wide eyes as he angrily stomped away. His last comment had left everyone a bit shell shocked.

"He used to be so nice..." Dawn trailed off. "He never would've talked like that before all of this happened."

"Maybe you didn't know him as well as you thought," May said.

"Maybe not..."

Paul couldn't take his eyes off of Kenny as he retreated further away. In a matter of seconds that guy had managed to insult him, his girlfriend, and their relationship together beyond what was acceptable. Dawn was not the kind of girl to be sucking her boyfriend's d*ick. And she would never do that for Kenny as long as she lived, even if she and Paul did break up. Especially now that he had practically called her a w*hore. Kenny didn't want Dawn back because he loved her. He only wanted her back for revenge.

Paul clenched his fist tight around what was now in his hand. Kenny had passed something to him during that handshake, and he knew exactly what it was. How he'd found out about Paul's drug problem, he didn't know, but what he did know was that there was a joint in his hand and he couldn't bring himself to throw it away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"This is so dumb," Leaf said.

"Lighten up and have a little fun, baby," Gary said.

"I don't know if I would call this fun..." Leaf stared around the small four person circle they'd formed in their living room. It was late at night, and Gary had come up with an ice breaker for the group to get to know each other. They were about to embark in a friendly game of truth or dare.

"This is the very game that brought us together, remember?" Gary said to her.

"Aw. That's cute," Lyra said. "Did you guys get dared to kiss or something?"

"No," Leaf answered. "Gary got dared by his guy friends to grab my breasts, and then I got him back by having my Butterfree use psychic to make him strip down to his boxers and pose in the fountain at the mall." Ethan and Lyra bursted out laughing.

"Wow, she really put you in your place, didn't she?" Ethan asked, punching Gary's shoulder jokingly. Leaf grinned slyly while her boyfriend blushed in embarrassment.

"Wow, Leaf. Why wouldn't you want to play this game? Don't you want to make more memories like that one?" Lyra asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Not really."

"Come on, let's just get started," Gary said, trying to get the game moving along. "Ladies first," he said, nodding to Leaf and Lyra.

"You can go first," Leaf offered to Lyra.

"Alright. I pick Gary. Truth, or dare?" she asked mysteriously.

"We'll start off slow. Truth."

"How many girls have you kissed?"

"Hmm... nine, I think."

"Oh really?" Leaf asked innocently. "I'd like to hear about them sometime."

"Should I be scared?" he asked.

"I don't think so. I realize that you have a past and stuff. Okay, it's my turn now! I'll pick Lyra. Truth or dare?"

"Dare," Lyra said boldly.

"Okay... I dare you to sit on Ethan's lap until the next turn is over." Lyra and Ethan both blushed.

"Come on," Gary teased. "Go on and get in his lap. And try not to get too excited, Ethan."

"I'll get you back for that, Oak," Ethan groaned as Lyra took a seat in his lap. "Hurry up, whoever's going next."

"You can go," Gary said.

"I'll go with Leaf. Truth or dare?"

"Dare," Leaf said. "I have to show up Gary, don't I?"

"Yes, you do. Hmm... I dare you to lick Gary's nipple!"

"That isn't creepy," Lyra said sarcastically.

"Okay, Gary, lift up your shirt," Leaf said. Her boyfriend rolled his shirt up and puffed his chest out.

"Wow, someone works out," Ethan said with a hint of jealousy. Gary grinned.

"This is really weird," Leaf said as she got onto her hands and knees and leaned close to Gary's chest. Quickly, she moved forward and gave his right nipple a swift stroke with her tongue, causing him to laugh in a rather feminine sounding way.

"Wow, what was that sound?" Ethan said, laughing.

"It tickled!" Gary protested. "Don't make fun of my laugh! Especially since it's my turn now."

"Right! Let me up, Ethan!" Lyra demanded, rolling off of his lap ungracefully.

"Careful!" He warned her. "You almost caused me some major discomfort!"

"Sorry!" she chirped.

"Well, I'm choosing Ethan of course!" Gary said, rolling his shirt back down. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Ethan said.

"Cop out," Gary muttered. "Fine. Tell us your best drunk story."

"Oh no," Lyra groaned. Ethan grinned from ear to ear.

"Well you see, we were in Kalos last year substituting for the bass and drum players of a band at some bar, and we were both kinda new to alcohol and everything since we were only eighteen. Lyra had the idea that we should figure out how much we could take before getting smashed , which I'd like to say right now, is totally unfair to me because she's a girl and she can't take as much, so at least she had me to tell her when to stop. So Lyra got drunk pretty quick and I had to keep going. As it turns out, using another drunk person to gage your own level of drunkenness is a terrible idea. I had way more than I could handle. Long story short, neither of us knows what happened that night. All I know is I woke up shirtless lying on the f*ucking train tracks."

Leaf and Gary laughed hysterically while Lyra just blushed.

"Where did you end up, Lyra?" Leaf asked.

"Somehow, I woke up in our hotel room," Lyra said. "I think someone helped me get there, or I'm just so awesome that I managed to get back there by myself."

"Doubtful," Ethan said. Lyra elbowed him.

"Okay, next round. Let's go in backwards order now," Ethan suggested. "And only dare from now on."

"Alright," Gary said. "I'll pick Lyra. I dare you to kiss Ethan."

"What is this, Ethan and Lyra shipping night?" Ethan asked in irritation.

"Lighten up," Lyra said to him. "Gary didn't specify _where_ I have to kiss you." She grabbed Ethan's hand and kissed it quickly, flinging his arm back at him.

"Darn it," Gary said.

"My turn," Ethan said. "And it's time for a little revenge. Gary, I dare you to twerk for Leaf."

Leaf busted out laughing while Gary just glared.

"Come on, baby. Let's see your moves," Leaf encouraged.

"Fine. You want me to twerk, I'll twerk," Gary said. He stood up and moved so that he was standing in front of Leaf, facing away from her. He stuck his buttocks out and began shaking his hips up and down. The others began laughing uncontrollably.

"I have bad news for you, Gary. You have no future in being an adult entertainer," Leaf said.

"I think that's good news," he said, sitting back down.

"My turn now!" Leaf said. "I dare Ethan to kiss Lyra! On the cheek."

"Thank you for having mercy at least!" Ethan shouted.

"Shoulda made him go for the lips," Gary said.

"I'm not mean," Leaf responded.

"I promise not to bite," Ethan said as he got up close to the side of Lyra's face. One quick peck and then it was over.

"And now me," Lyra said. "I dare Leaf to let Gary do her makeup."

"Oh this is going to be _beautiful_," Leaf said. She got up and went to her bedroom to retrieve all of her makeup supplies.

"No one is allowed to help him," Lyra said. "He has to figure it out the best he can."

"Let's see here," Gary said, looking through the box of makeup supplies. He picked up some foundation. "I think this goes on first." He took some of the foundation out and began smearing it all over Leaf's face.

"How am I supposed to do this without laughing?" Leaf asked.

"Does it really matter if you laugh? It's not like he can mess it up any worse," Ethan said.

"Oh, and I'm sure _you _know how to do all of this stuff," Gary jeered.

"That's beside the point," Ethan said.

Next, Gary picked up some eye liner. He tried his best to outline Leaf's eyes, but it didn't go to well. After putting the mascara on as well, Leaf began to look like a Zigzagoon.

"I forgot blush!" Gary said as he brushed way too much onto her cheeks. He then finished up by smearing red lipstick all over Leaf's lips. "Aaaaand done! Look at my beatiful creation!" Gary said proudly.

Lyra laughed and handed Leaf a mirror.

"I look terrible," Leaf laughed. "You made me look like a drunk w*hore!"

"I'd still kiss you," Gary said.

"Then go right ahead," Leaf said. Gary pulled her towards him and kissed her deeply. When he pulled away, Ethan and Lyra laughed.

"You got a little something on your face," Ethan said with a smirk. Leaf turned the mirror towards Gary so he could see.

The four of them laughed together, and then they decided to call it quits for the night. Leaf had to admit that even though she hated truth or dare, the night had gone pretty well and the four of them had gotten to know each other a lot better.

"You do still impress me sometimes," she whispered to him as they said goodnight.

"You're talking about my twerking, right?" he joked.

"Totally," Leaf said sarcastically. The two of them kissed and then went off to bed. In six days, their dream would finally become a reality.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

So... I threw Lyra and Ethan into the story. They won't be a main couple or anything. They will very rarely have major scenes. But I needed some characters to be in the band with Leaf and Gary and I didn't want to have anymore OC's. And I like Ethan and Lyra. I apologize to those of you who prefer Lyra to be with Silver, but like I said, they'll only be background characters, so it shouldn't be too big of a deal.

Sorry this chapter got a bit lengthy. It just kinda happened.

Thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, follows, and favorites! You're all awesome!


	6. Chapter 6: Storm Brewing

What time is it? It's update time!

Sorry. So anyway, here's a new chapter. I finally got myself organized, and I figured out a lot of what I want to have happen in this story. I felt like chapters 2-4 were lagging along, so I'm glad to get the ball rolling a bit now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Drew!" a voice called out. The green haired boy turned to see his friend Brianna running towards him. They'd been through all of their years of school together, and Drew saw the girl as his friend and rival when it came to coordinating.

"Hey, Brianna," he said, letting the girl fall in next to him.

"I've been wanting to ask you something," she said as they walked down the hallway.

"What's that?"

"Well... homecoming is next week, and I was wondering... if you would like to go with me?"

"I'm not sure..." Drew said honestly. "You see, I'm dating a girl from another school, and we haven't talked about this sort of thing yet. I'll tell you what. I'll talk to May today and ask her if she's okay with it, and if she'd prefer for me to go alone, then I will, but if she says it's fine then I'd be happy to go with you."

"Okay, Drew! It's cool that you respect your girlfriend so much. Make sure to let me know what she says!" Brianna ran off ahead of him, turning into one of the classrooms. Drew took out his pokegear and sent a text to May so that they could talk about what to do for homecoming.

_We need to talk about homecoming._

**_Did a girl ask you?_**

_Yes._

**_How pretty is she?_**

_She's alright. She's just an old friend._

**_Well... okay. I know you don't want to look like a loser who goes to homecoming alone. Does this mean that if a guy asks me, I can go with him?_**

_You got someone in mind?_

**_Of course not! But it might be nice to go with someone, you know?_**

_Sure. I understand. But tell me if you do, okay?_

**_You know I will :) Gotta go now! Love you!_**

_Love you too._

Drew shoved his pokegear into his pocket. He didn't know why it bothered him that May had agreed to let him go to homecoming with another girl so easily. He had almost been hoping for her to say no. He had been hoping that she would prefer it if they both went to their homecoming dance with friends instead of with a date. It seemed odd to him that May would agree so readily for him to go out with someone else. Shouldn't she be a little more protective?

Deep down, Drew knew that what was really bothering him was the thought of May going to homecoming with some other guy. While he was definitely feeling jealous, he was also concerned. If May went to homecoming with a guy who tried to get into her pants, it could be a major setback in all of the progress she'd made since summer. He felt the need to protect her. He would never forgive himself if she got hurt just because he wanted to go to homecoming with another girl.

On the other hand, he was glad that May even felt comfortable enough to go to homecoming with a date. She'd been so nervous back when they'd had their first date on the beach. He could still remember how she'd flinched when he'd held her hand.

"Hey, Drew." The voice startled him out of his thoughts. He turned to see that Paul had walked up to him.

"Two things," Paul said, holding up two fingers. "One: why are you standing still in the middle of the hallway? You're blocking traffic. That p*isses me off. Two: Why did you see the need to tell Reggie that I have a girlfriend?"

"I don't know," Drew said, moving to the side of the hallway so that he'd be out of everyone's way. "He asked me how our vacation went, and I told him... how it went."

"You had no right to tell him about Dawn. Learn to mind your own business, or you'll have a real problem next time," Paul hissed.

"What's your problem with Reggie?" Drew asked.

"I hate him. He is an ever-present pain in my a*ss, and I can't wait until this year is over so that I can head out on my journey and be away from him." With that, Paul turned and walked down the hallway.

Drew was confused. Why did Paul care if Reggie knew he had a girlfriend? Something was wrong... and Drew resolved that he was finally going to get to the bottom of Paul's illogical hatred for his brother.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Good morning, Jubilife City High! This is your morning announcements. Lunch today will be chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes with vegetable choice on the side. This week's athletics-_

Misty tuned out of the announcements and worked on her homework that was due in five minutes. She hadn't even started it, so now she had to b*ullshit a short essay about the second act of _Hamlet_.

_\- and Misty Waterflower!_

Misty jerked her head up at the sound of her name. How could they call her to the office right now? Didn't they know that she had homework to finish?

"Congratulations, Misty!" her teacher said with a smile. What was she congratulating her for? Did it have to do with her name being called on announcements? She whipped her Pokegear out and texted May.

_Hey, what did they say about me on announcements? I missed it._

**_You made the homecoming court! And so did Dawn!_**

Misty wanted to spew all kinds of profanity. How could she have made the homecoming court? Now she would have to dress up all of next week. Not that she minded looking girly once in a while, but historically, the homecoming court was like a grown up version of "Toddlers and Tiaras." The girls were competitive of course, but their mothers always did a little mudslinging as well. Misty didn't want to get caught up in that. And she didn't even have a mother to get over involved in her life. She was definitely the underdog of the competition.

Misty went through her morning classes in a fog. Once it was time for lunch, she headed over to the table where she always sat with Dawn and May... and Leaf, and she crumpled into her seat.

"Help me..." she begged Dawn.

"Misty, you should be excited!" Dawn said. "It's going to be fun!"

"Yeah, it'll be fun for you!" Misty said. "You actually have a shot at winning!"

"So do you! You're pretty and lots of people will vote for you! You have all your friends on the sports teams and if you got enough votes to make the court what makes you think you can't get enough votes to win?"

"Dawn, you're head cheerleader! And I don't know who the other two girls are because I wasn't paying attention, but I'm sure they're all pretty and popular!"

"The other two girls are Ursula and Melody," Dawn said.

"Melody..." Misty seethed. "I hate that little ditz."

"She's not a ditz. She's actually pretty smart," May said. Misty glared at her. "I mean, she's totally dumb!" she said quickly, holding her hands up in defense.

"Think of this as a chance to get back at her. You might not win, but you could at least make it your mission to do better than her!" Dawn chirped.

"An excellent plan," Misty said, rubbing her hands together and grinning evilly.

"This will be the most interesting homecoming court ever..." May said.

"Why?" Misty and Dawn both asked at the same time, turning towards their friend.

"Because it's made up of two pairs of rivals. The competition is going to be even more brutal than it normally is. And everyone just might hate all four of you by the end of next week."

"Gee, thanks, May," Dawn said sarcastically.

"The more brutal the better!" Misty said.

"Let's talk strategy," Dawn suggested. "So, we have to dress up every day next week. Now, Misty, I think it would be a good idea for you to stick to your usual style of dressing up with a casual yet sophisticated look. And then maybe wear a cute dress for Thursday. And then go full out beauty queen for Friday! The advantage you have is that you look good in just about any style, and you can show off all of your best qualities throughout the week. Melody is kinda like that too, but you do it so much better. Me and Ursula can only pull off cute outfits, so we'll seem more redundant."

"I like it," Misty said. "I can start out casual and work my way up to model perfection throughout the week. That way I'll appeal to everyone throughout the entire spectrum of fashion."

"And then there's the performance at the homecoming pep rally," Dawn reminded her. "I'm sure both Ursula and I will put on a standard contest performance, but you and Melody aren't used to performing like that, so instead of seeing it as a drawback, use it as a chance to do something a little more unique with your pokemon that will make you stand out!"

"I know exactly what to do!" Misty said. "But you'll have to wait until Thursday night to see!"

"Okay, okay," Dawn said, laughing. "I'm glad you're excited about it now, Misty."

The bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period.

"Well, I wish you both good luck," May said. "I'll cheer for both of you!"

"Thanks, May!" Dawn said as she left to go to her next class.

"Melody better watch her back next week," Misty said. "Because I'm going to show the school just how much of a lady I can be!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"This was a great idea, Lyra," Leaf said as the four of them walked out of the trailer together. Two days ago they had set out for Pewter City, the first location on their tour. They'd be arriving tomorrow.

"I figured our Pokemon could really use a good battle since they've been cooped up for so long," Lyra said.

"So what'll it be? Me and Gary vs. you and Ethan?" Leaf asked.

"No no no," Ethan said. "You're not shoving me and Lyra into another situation together. Let's do guys vs. girls."

"Fair enough," Gary said. "We'll use three Pokemon each, so it's like a full six on six battle.

"Sounds great!" Lyra said. "Let's go, Leaf!" The girl dragged Leaf across an expanse of grass until they were a good distance away from the boys.

"Marril, I choose you!" Lyra yelled, releasing the pokemon from its pokeball.

"Umbreon, let's go!" Gary called, releasing his pokemon next.

"Ambipom, you're first!" Ethan yelled.

"Let's show everyone what we've got!" Leaf called, releasing her pokemon from its pokeball.

"Wow! Your Snivy evolved!" Gary said in surprise.

"That's right! We've been training in secret!" Leaf said with a smirk.

"Well, we're about to see if that training will pay off," Gary said. "Umbreon, use shadow ball on Servine!"

"Ambipom, hit the shadow ball with your tails while using focus punch to give it extra force!" Ethan commanded. Umbreon released a powerful shadow ball which Ambipom hit with its tails, sending a doubly powerful shadow ball blasting towards Servine.

"Dodge it!" Leaf yelled. Servine released its vines and grabbed the approaching shadow ball, hoisting itself up and over the attack.

"Woah, I've never seen a dodge like that!" Lyra said in awe. "Now it's our turn! Marril, use aqua tail on Umbreon!"

"Servine, use vine whip on Ambipom!"

"Dodge that aqua tail and use bite!" Gary yelled. Umbreon dodged Marril's attack and bit down on the round pokemon's tail, causing it to cry out in pain. In the mean time, Servine had captured Ambipom by wrapping its vines around the pokemon's two tails, rendering it useless with its stubby arms and legs.

"Umbreon, use hypnosis!" Gary commanded. The pokemon glowed a soft purple color and then Marill fell fast asleep.

"Ah! Marill, return!" Lyra called, returning her Pokemon. "It's all up to you for this round now, Leaf!"

"Don't worry about it," Leaf said. "Servine, use leaf blade!" Servine unleashed a powerful leaf blade on its captor, causing major damage to Ambipom.

"Night shade, Umbreon!" Gary called. Being a broad attack, night shade hit both Servine and Ambipom, causing Ambipom to faint.

"Sorry to hit your pokemon Ethan, but I think we can agree that it was done for anyway."

"That may be true, but I still don't approve!" Ethan yelled as he returned his Ambipom.

"It's all about strategy! Now, Umbreon, use attract!" Umbreon winked at Servine as hearts were released from its body, causing Servine to fall head over heels for the other pokemon.

"Snap out of it, Servine!" Leaf called.

"Finish it off with a shadow ball attack!" Gary commanded. The pokemon released a powerful shadow ball attack at Servine, knocking it out completely.

"Servine, return," Leaf said sullenly.

"You've done a great job raising the pokemon I gave you, Leaf!" Gary called to her. "I had no idea that Snivy had evolved!"

"Thanks, Gary! And we're not going to lose round two! Clefable, it's time to battle!" Leaf called, releasing her next pokemon.

"Smoochum, let's go!" Lyra called.

Gary returned Umbreon to its pokeball. "Pidgeot, I choose you!"

"Let's both take it to the air!" Ethan said. "Togekiss, take flight!"

"Clefable, use thunderbolt on Pidgeot and Togekiss!" Leaf commanded.

"Dodge it with aerial ace and charge Clefable!" Gary said to Pidgeot.

"Togekiss, do the same!" Ethan yelled. The two pokemon rushed towards Clefable, swirling around the thunderbolt to dodge it.

"We won't be able to dodge!" Leaf grunted.

"Smoochum, use icy wind!" Lyra yelled. The baby pokemon jumped in front of Clefable and released a powerfully cold wind, causing both flying types to soar backwards.

"How did that little Smoochum release such a powerful icy wind?" Leaf asked.

"My Smoochum refused evolution by choice, so it's really strong even though it hasn't evolved," Lyra explained.

"Awesome. Alright, Clefable, use Metranome!" Leaf called. Clefable waved its short arms back and forth, summoning a random attack.

"Use light screen, Togekiss!" Ethan yelled. Both Togekiss and Pidgeot became shielded by the move. Clefable released a flamethrower attack, but its power was weakened by the light screen on top of it being a normal type pokemon.

"Smoochum, use ice shard!" Lyra yelled. The baby pokemon released a powerful ice shard, which smashed through the light screen and caused major damage to Togekiss.

"Pidgeot, use twister!" Gary commanded. The bird pokemon released a twister that went hurtling towards Clefable and Smoochum.

"Use Psychic and send that twister right back to them!" Leaf yelled. Clefable used its psychic attack to take control of the twister, moving it back towards the two flying pokemon.

"Togekiss, use psychic as well!" Ethan shouted. Togekiss used its psychic attack, and the two pokemon were now at a stalemate. The twister was still spinning powerfully, but it didn't bugde in either direction.

"Smoochum, use psychic!" Lyra said. With two pokemon's psychic vs. one, the twister began to move towards Pidgeot and Togekiss once again, finally sucking the two pokemon into its spiral. When the twister died down, both flying types fell to the ground in defeat.

"We did it!" Lyra cheered.

"You got lucky," Gary said with a huff as he returned Pidgeot to its pokeball. "But we're not going to go easy on you in the last round. It's time to bring out the big boys now. Blastoise, go!"

"Typhlosion, I choose you!" Ethan yelled after returning his Togekiss.

"Meganium, let's rock!" Lyra shouted.

"I would choose my starter too, but I think we need something to handle that fire," Leaf said. "Ditto, come on out!"

"Wow! You have a Ditto, awesome!" Lyra said.

"Ditto, transform into Blastoise!" Leaf said. The small purple pokemon shape shifted until it changed into a perfect copy of Blastoise.

"You may have a Blastoise now, but no way is it as strong as mine!" Gary said snarkily. "Blastoise, use hydro pump on that other Blastoise!"

"Ditto, use rapid spin!" Leaf yelled. Ditto withdrew into its shell and spun into the hydro pump attack, cutting through the blast of water and hitting Gary's Blastoise.

"Typhlosion, use flame wheel on Meganium!" Ethan called. Typhlosion rolled into a ball of fire and flew towards Meganium, hitting it head on.

"Now that Typhlosion is close, use frenzy plant!" Lyra shouted. All around Meganium, green glowing roots crashed up from the ground, striking Typlosion and sending it flying.

"Use erruption!" Ethan yelled. Typhlosion showered the entire field with lava, causing Meganium to faint. Gary's Blastoise and Leaf's Ditto also took damage, but remained able to fight.

"Use hydro pump on Typhlosion!" Leaf commanded. Her Ditto aimed its cannons at Typhlosion, and it released a hydro pump that wasn't nearly as powerful as the one shot by Gary's Blastoise. It was enough to defeat Typhlosion after it had taken a decent amount of damage from frenzy plant though.

With Meganium and Typhlosion now defeated, the match now came down to Gary's Blastoise and Leaf's Ditto. They were definitely unevenly matched, and Leaf knew the odds were not in her favor. With the field covered in lava, the only moves that could be used were long range water attacks, and her Ditto couldn't match the power of an actual water type pokemon.

"Ditto, use hydro pump and aim it towards the sky!" Leaf called. Ditto aimed its cannons at the sky and released the attack, causing water to fall around the field and cool areas of the lava. Now the pokemon would be able to move, but there were still patched of lava dotting the field.

"Blastoise, use hydro cannon!" Gary yelled. Suddenly, Blastoise released the attack and Ditto had no time to dodge. The attack hit Ditto head on, and caused the pokemon to faint. It transformed back into its original form before Leaf returned it to its pokeball.

"You fought well," she said to it before putting the ball back in her bag.

"That was a great battle," Lyra said, giving her a thumbs up.

"Not bad at all," Ethan agreed, running back across the field with Gary behind him.

"But of course you were no match for me," Gary said, flicking his hair.

"Yeah... no one can match your insane luck," Leaf jeered.

"Luck has nothing to do with it, Leafy. You're looking at a trainer who is one-hundred percent pure power and skill."

"More like one-hundred percent full of himself," Lyra whispered to Ethan. The three of them laughed, while Gary glared at them.

"Hey guys! That's enough of a break! We need to get going!" Anita called to them from the trailer.

"Last one there has to empty the waste tank at the next stop!" Ethan said. The four of them took off running. Leaf laughed in exhilaration. It felt so good to have friends again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

I thought about adding another segment to this chapter, but I think I'll just allow it to be a little shorter than usual. The last chapter was longer, so I'll call it... balancing things out. And I want to go ahead and move into the homecoming chapter, so this chapter serves its purpose of setting up for those events.

Thank you to all of my readers, reviewers, followers, and favoriters! You guys are awesome!


	7. Chapter 7: Homecoming

I hope you're all ready to read the exciting homecoming chapter! Well, I personally never found homecoming to be all that exciting myself, but I'm going to try and make this chapter awesome! Let's see what happens.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

On Monday, Misty wore a blue and black plaid button up top and black skinny jeans and blue Converse. Her hair was tied in her usual pony tail, and she didn't wear any makeup. Ursula and Melody both sneered at her, but she kept her head up and walked through the hallways confidently. On Tuesday, she wore a blue top with puffy sleeves and a black vest over it, and she wore khaki pants and black flats. She kept the ponytail. On Wednesday, she finally let her hair down, but she didn't straighten it, leaving it in its feathery state. She wore a black skirt with a glittery blue top and a dark blue button up sweater. She also added some makeup into the mix. Then on Thursday, she finally went with a dress. It was a simple blue dress with a white waist band, and she wore matching blue flats and straightened her hair.

It was now Thursday night, and Misty and Dawn chatted excitedly as they waited for the homecoming pep rally to begin. The pep rally took place in the football stadium, and was going to open by introducing the homecoming court and having each one do a little performance with their pokemon. Suddenly, the high school band began playing the school's fight song, and the girls lined up so that they would be ready to perform.

"And now, introducing this year's homecoming court!" the announcer said. He was the class president, who was always put in charge of talking at pep rallies. "Our first candidate for homecoming queen is Ursula!" Ursula walked onto the stage dressed in her chearleading uniform, and released two pokeballs. Her Plusle and Minun emerged, each wearing a small cheerleading uniform as well. Together, the three of them did a cheerleading routine, complete with acrobatics and sparks from the pokemon. The audience clapped and cheered at the end.

"Our second candidate for homecoming queen is Dawn!" Dawn was wearing a short ballroom dress with fringe. Some music started playing and she released Piplup, Buneary, and Pachirisu from their pokeballs. All of them began to dance to the fast beat in perfect sync, their smiles never faltering. They pulled off lots of fancy moves, causing the whole crowd to smile and cheer.

"Our third homecoming queen candidate is Melody!" Melody walked onto the stage wearing a short white dress, holding an ocarina. She released only one pokeball, which a Gardevoir emerged from. Melody began to play a beautiful ocarina tune, and Gardevoir danced to the slow song with grace and elegance. The crowd was captivated by the performance, and they cheered loudly when it was over.

"And our final homecoming queen candidate is Misty!" Some hard rock music began playing and Misty ran onto the stage dressed in an athletic tank top and shorts. She had called on one of her old pokemon to help her with her performance. Togetic was released from its pokeball, landing beside Misty. They both picked up a tennis racket, and they began to hit a tennis ball back and forth. Misty finished by spiking the ball and scoring against her pokemon. Next, a high jump bar was brought onto the stage. Togetic flew to the top and shook its head, raising the bar up another peg. Misty ran and jumped over the bar, clearing it easily. Togetic cheered and celebrated, doing flips as it flew down and rested on Misty's shoulders. The crowd cheered loudly, all of the sports teams standing to their feet. Her performance had stood out from the others because it was far less girly, but still graceful. She felt good about the applause she was receiving, and her heart soared with confidence.

While the candidates for homecoming king were introduced in the same way, the girls went into the sports complex and changed. Each of them changed into a simple dress that would look nice, but wouldn't be too fancy. Misty wondered how the boys' performances were going. The candidates for homecoming king were Kenny, a boy named Lucas, a boy named Barry, and Rudy. She and Dawn weren't exactly thrilled that their ex boyfriends were on the court.

"Are you sure you're really a _lady_, Misty?" Ursula asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked, hostility in her voice.

"Just look at your underwear. It's so... eww."

"It looks like something my boyfriend would wear," Melody added. She and Ursula both burst into laughter. Misty looked down at her undergarments. She was wearing cotton boy shorts and a very plain looking tan bra.

"Rudy wears a bra?" she asked with a smirk. Melody ceased her laughter.

"Of course not!" she huffed.

"But you just said -"

"Shut up, b*itch." Melody zipped up her dress and stomped out of the complex, Ursula at her heels.

"That was great," Dawn said. "And Misty... don't pay any attention to them. Just because you don't wear thongs and lacy push-up bras, that doesn't mean you're any less feminine."

"I know. I'm comfortable with my femininity, but it bothers me when people think I can't be lady-like just because I'm athletic and tomboy-ish."

When the girls returned to the track, the football captain was giving a speech about the big game tomorrow. They took their seats next to the boys and waited for their next part in the pep rally.

"I thought you were great, Dawn! I'm sure you're going to be homecoming queen!" Kenny whispered to her across the seats.

"Thanks," she said tersely. Misty shot him a glare that said _leave her alone or I'll break you_. He complied.

Melody and Rudy were exchanging looks and gestures across to each other, causing Misty to roll her eyes. She hated how the two of them acted around her, and she knew that Rudy was still trying to make her feel jealous. She ignored them and listened to the speech, and she clapped as the football captain finished and left the stage.

"And now we're going to have a short interview with each member of the homecoming court! Would the candidates for homecoming king please come up to the stage?" The guys all walked up to the stage. They were each interviewed about why they deserve to be homecoming king. In Misty's opinion, Barry was the best candidate. He wasn't the best looking of the four, but he was a nice guy and he was really funny and charismatic. He was friends with a lot of people, but he didn't walk around thinking he was high and mighty because of his popularity.

"And to end our interview, which candidate for homecoming _queen_ do you think people should vote for?"

"Definitely Dawn!" Kenny said, passing the microphone down the row.

"My vote is for Ursula," Lucas said.

"Another vote for Dawn!" Barry added.

"My vote is for my girlfriend, Melody," Rudy said.

Misty felt a little upset that none of the boys had said they would vote for her, but she kept her chin up. It was only four people... Four very popular people who had a whole lot of influence on who people voted for. She really wished just one of them would've said they were voting for her.

"Well, it certainly looks like Dawn is the favorite for our male candidates. Let's go ahead and bring forward our queen candidates!" The girls traded places with the boys, and they were asked to talk about why they deserved to be homecoming queen. The microphone was given to Ursula first.

"I deserve to be homecoming queen because I'm smart, I'm beautiful, and I'm strong. I've always worked hard at everything I do, and I have all of the elegance that you could want in a homecoming queen!" She passed the microphone to Melody next.

"You should vote me as your homecoming queen because I'm not some stereotypical girl. I'm original, and unique. I have a wide range of interests and goals in life, and I'm not a cliché," she said before passing the mike to Misty rather roughly.

"No one _deserves_ to be homecoming queen," she stated. "But I think that I'm a very well-rounded person, and if you vote for me, it would make me feel... amazing. I never even expected that I would be on the homecoming court, so thank you to the senior class for even giving me this chance." She smiled and handed the microphone to Dawn.

"Misty is right. Nobody deserves to be homecoming queen," she said. It doesn't feel right for me to promote myself, because while I know I'm one of the favorites to win, I don't think I'm the best candidate. If there is such a thing as deserving to be homecoming queen, then Misty is the one who deserves it. Like Ursula, she is smart, and strong, and beautiful. Like Melody, she is unique and not a cliché. And whatever you see in me, I'm sure that Misty has those qualities as well. I encourage everyone who plans to vote for me to vote for Misty instead."

Misty looked her friend in the eyes. She felt overcome with emotion that Dawn would give up her chance to be homecoming queen just so that she could beat Melody and have one glamorous moment in the spotlight. It nearly brought tears to her eyes, but she kept herself under control.

"That was very touching. Now, would each of you please tell us who you will be voting for as homecoming king?"

"My vote will be for Barry," Dawn said, passing the microphone back to Misty.

"I'll be voting for Barry as well," she said.

"My vote is for my boyfriend, Rudy!" Melody said.

"And I'll be voting for Lucas," Ursula said, handing the microphone back to the announcer.

"Thank you, ladies! We are now going to hear from the city mayor!"

Everybody listened as the mayor of Jubilife City gave a speech about teamwork and team spirit and support from fans and such.

"You didn't have to do that, Dawn," Misty said to her friend.

"I know I didn't _have _to. I _wanted _to. My heart _told _me to," she responded.

"Thank you. Thank you for promoting me. And thank you for all of those nice things you said about me."

"It's all true, Misty. Out of the four of us, you'd make the best homecoming queen. And secretly... I'm kind of hoping for prom queen instead."

Misty nodded. The same girl couldn't be both homecoming queen and prom queen, so Dawn would have to lose if she had her sights set on the latter.

"I'll help you with that when the time comes," Misty promised.

"Deal," Dawn said with a smile.

"Our last event for this year's homecoming pep rally is a small contest between our homecoming court candidates! For the contest, Dawn will be paired with Kenny, Ursula will be paired with Lucas, Melody will be paired with Barry, and Misty will be paired with Rudy."

The girls groaned except for Ursula. They'd all been paired with someone they didn't want.

"You better watch yourself around my boyfriend," Melody hissed at Misty.

"I promise not to snap his bra straps," she said with a grin. Melody narrowed her eyes before waltzing over to Barry unhappily.

"Would you call this fate?" a voice asked. Misty turned to see Rudy next to her.

"I think I'd call it a curse," she replied.

"Still dating the Pikachu guy?"

"You bet," Misty said, heading towards where the competition was going to take place.

"Well, he was a good battler. I'll give him that," Rudy said.

"Thanks. I'll tell him."

"For our first little contest, we need the guys to sit here at this table!" the class president instructed. Some other student council members were helping now, setting out what looked like makeup supplies in front of each guy.

"Our queen candidates are now going to beautify our king candidates, and then afterwards, we'll let the crowd vote for who looks the prettiest based on applause!"

Laughter could be heard in the audience. They were clearly eager to see the most popular boys in school garbed in makeup. Misty smiled. She was going to let Rudy have it.

"On your marks, get set, go!"

Misty knew there was a time limit, so she worked fast. She grabbed foundation and smeared it on Rudy's face. She didn't take as much time to blend it as she knew she should, and she looked to the side to see that the other girls were being sloppy as well. Next, she grabbed the eyeliner and poorly outlined Rudy's eyes on the top and bottom. She applied a ton of eye shadow and mascara as well. She giggled as she looked at him. There had been glitter in the eye shadow, and the mascara was that awful blue color that becomes popular again every five years or so. Lastly, she grabbed bright red lipstick and smeared it all over his lips.

"Time's up!" the announcer yelled. The girls stepped back to reveal their creations to the audience. Roaring laughter broke out as the guys got out of their seats and stepped forward. A pop song started playing over the PA system and the guys flaunted their new looks. Barry was really getting into it, working the audience like he was a model.

"It's time to vote! Who thinks that Lucas looks the prettiest?" The audience clapped and cheered.

"Who thinks Kenny looks the best?" The audience clapped about the same level as they had for Lucas.

"Who thinks Rudy looks the best?" The audience cheered loudly, some yelling and screaming.

"And who thinks Barry is the prettiest?" The audience went absolutely crazy, obviously voting Barry as the prettiest guy on the court. One of the student council members came up behind him and put a pink plastic crown on his head, which he wore proudly.

The boys were given a little bit of time to wipe the makeup off with wet towels while the next contest was set up. Misty could see several food items being set out, and she was curious about what they would have to do next.

"For this contest, we need the guys to sit at the table again," the class president instructed. "The girls need to stand behind their partner. Now, in front of our king candidates are assorted food items, and instructions on how to make a very special sandwich for our queen candidates. The guys have to follow the instructions and make the sandwich as fast as they can, and when they are done, they must switch places with their partner who will have to eat the sandwich. The first team to finish will win the contest!"

Misty could see that her fellow queen candidates all looked nauseated, but she had worked up an appetite. "All of my eating with Ash should have me pretty well prepared for this," she said confidently. She could hear Dawn giggle at her side.

"Go!"

Misty watched over Rudy's shoulder as he followed the instructions for the sandwich. Peanut butter, pickles, olives, marshmallows, barbeque sauce, chocolate chaps and ranch dressing were all piled onto the bread. The guys all finished about the same time, and soon the girls were all seated in front of the sandwiches.

Ursula stared at it in disgust, her nose crinkled up against her face. Dawn had picked hers up and sniffed it, taking an experimental bite before making a sick face and covering her mouth with her hand. Melody was biting away at her sandwich, but the going was slow. She looked like she wasn't going to make it.

Misty, on the other hand, was eagerly eating the creation. She bit into the sandwich vigorously, and soon the whole thing was in her belly.

"We have our winners!" the announcer said. Rudy grabbed Misty's wrist and held her arm up into the air. Misty smiled and laughed, even though she could feel Melody's eyes burning through her dress and branding her skin.

"This concludes our homecoming pep rally! We encourage all community members to attend tomorrow's big football game! Tomorrow night, our homecoming king and our queen will be crowned, so you don't want to miss it!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Again, Misty was paired with Rudy. They were sitting on top of the seats of a fancy convertible car, their feet resting where their bottoms were supposed to be. She was wearing a fancy dress, and her hair was straightened to perfection. Dawn had done her makeup, and she looked like she had when Dawn had done her makeup the night after cheerleading tryouts.

"You look beautiful," Rudy said.

"I don't think you should say that to me. Your girlfriend is already p*issed from last night," she pointed out.

"Who cares?" Rudy asked, leaning in closer to Misty.

"Get away from me," she said, pushing him back from her. "Oh look, it's time to start moving."

Theirs was the last of the four cars, each holding a pair of king and queen candidates. The cars drove into the football stadium and onto the track, circling around the front of the bleachers. Misty and Rudy waved to the crowd as they passed by, receiving lots of applause. At the back of the field, the pairs of candidates were dropped off where their parents were waiting for them. Misty went over to her sisters, Violet and Lily. Daisy was unable to attend the game because of work, but she'd still been super excited for her younger sister.

Each candidate was walked across the field one at a time by their parents or whoever was in their place. Someone on the announcements read off things about each candidate, like their name, school activities, and future plans. Misty winced as the announcer said that she planned to attend college to become a gym leader, and then take over Cerulean Gym. She'd written it down on the information sheet, but her heart tugged in another direction.

Misty had to fight to keep her laughter in as Ursula was coming across the field. The girl had worn shoes with insanely high and thin heels, and they were sinking into the football field, causing her to stumble around like crazy every three steps. Eventually, the poor girl made it across the field though. Her father was rolling his eyes and her mother just looked embarrassed.

"And now it is time to crown this year's homecoming king and queen!" the announcer said as the parents all left the field. On one side of the fifty yard line stood the king candidates side by side, and on the other side stood the queen candidates. The previous year's homecoming king and queen came forward with the two crowns, ready to pass them on. They walked behind the candidates and paced back and forth, keeping the audience guessing about who won. Misty's heart was beating in her chest, and she could feel her face getting warm. She never thought she would have wanted this so badly, but she did.

Suddenly, she felt a crown being placed on her head from behind, and she couldn't believe it. Had she really won? Really and truly? And was the crowd really clapping and cheering that loudly for her? It was all thanks to Dawn. She couldn't have done it without Dawn. She looked to her right to see Dawn clapping giddily and Ursula and Melody clapping softly with fake smiles. To her left, she saw that Barry had been crowned as well.

She and Barry stepped forward and held hands, lifting their arms up in victory. The crowd continued cheering as they all left the field. Misty's sisters ran up to her and hugged her and May came down from the bleachers to congratulate her as well. Dawn stayed by her side and right there on the track they had a giant group hug that dispersed into laughter and smiles. Misty felt proud and fortunate. She'd really been voted homecoming queen. She couldn't wait to tell Leaf all about it. Her best friend was never going to believe it!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey there, _King_ Drew," Ash said. His friend rolled his eyes. It was no surprise that Drew had been voted homecoming king. Ash felt a little weird talking to Drew while Brianna was at his side. He didn't know if he really liked Drew going out with another girl, but if May had said it was okay, then it was none of his business. He was grateful that Misty hadn't wanted to go to her homecoming with another guy. He'd heard from her last night all about her big homecoming victory, and he was proud of her.

"Do you know if Paul is here?" Ash asked.

"Do you seriously think Paul would come to Homecoming?"

"I guess not. I think I'm just bored. I mean, you ditched me to be with her, so..." Ash trailed off, gesturing towards Brianna.

"No offense, Ash, but she's a lot prettier than you are," Drew said. Brianna blushed next to him, but she looked pleased. Ash felt uneasy again.

"Come on, Drew, let's dance!" Brianna said, dragging Drew towards the middle of the floor. Ash rolled his eyes and went to got a drink from the punch bowl. If his friend wanted to borderline cheat, that was his problem. Maybe he was just overreacting to the whole situation. He knew that Drew and Brianna had been friends since they were in preschool.

Gary. That was the real reason why Ash was feeling irritated tonight. He missed that b*astard. Ever since he'd left, Ash had nobody to compete with, and that was killing him. Battling was Ash's whole life. He needed to get stronger constantly. Now that his rival was gone, there was nobody in the whole school who could give him a challenging battle.

There was more to it than that though. Gary may have been Ash's rival, but he was also his best friend. He hadn't heard from him in almost two months now, and he felt so f*ucking alone. Nobody to tease. Nobody to fight with. Nobody to go out and train with. Sure, he still had Drew and Paul, but Gary had been... that one special friend. That friend who you hate but love at the same time. The one who you can't stand but can't imagine living without. Except now, he did have to live without him, and it kept eating away at him like the rain and the wind eroding the mountains.

Ash set his cup full of punch down. He'd had enough. Enough punch, and enough of this stupid dance. He left the gym and headed out to the parking lot, getting into his car. He wanted to go home, but he wanted to be alone for a while first. He drove to the outskirts of Veilstone City, where the country side met the buildings and stars could actually be seen in the sky. There, he found a pond. He knew the pond well. He got out of his car and pulled something out of his pocket. It was half of an old pokeball. He held it up in front of the pond. He had been fishing here when he was a kid, and Gary had been fishing too. They'd both hooked this old, rusted pokeball at the same time, and they'd pulled on their lines, fighting for it. The pokeball had broken in half, and even though Gary had made some rude comments afterwards, he'd kept his half just like Ash had kept his.

Ash held the pokeball half up to the star-filled sky.

"Gary Oak... do you still have the other half? ... Are we still... best friends?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

And there we have it! I hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter. It was really fun to write it, and we got some serious Ash feels there at the end!

Feel free to leave any comments, questions, or concerns in a review! I love to hear what you guys are thinking and whether or not you like what's happening. And thank you so much to everyone who's been supporting this story! Stay awesome!


	8. Chapter 8: First Concert

It took me a little while to get this started because I just needed to take a break. Thanks for being patient, everyone.

A guest reviewer asked me if Brendan would ever appear in person in the story. The answer is yes. He'll start making appearances very soon, actually. Maybe even this chapter, but I'm not quite sure what I'm going to end up covering, so we'll see.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Listen to that," Gary said. "Can you believe that many people are going to listen to us?" He stood wearing a black jacket with a blue shirt underneath, and black jeans. Leaf herself was dressed in a long sleeved t-shirt with green and black stripes, and black skinny jeans inside brown knee-high boots. The shirt felt a bit tight on her, but Anita had told her that it made her figure really stand out.

"No. But I believe that every single one of them is here to see Jessica Hills, and that they couldn't care less about us," Leaf answered. "What if they hate us after we perform?" The two of them were standing behind the stage, hidden from the audience by curtains and trailers and equipment and people running around getting things ready. It was an outdoor concert, and the weather was absolutely perfect. Leaf felt a bit shook up by all of it, but she calmed her nerves by staring at their trailer. It was almost comical to see the giant picture of herself and Gary painted on the vehicle. Even when she had lived with her wealthy family, she'd never had anything so self glorifying.

"Water! Water! I'd trade my whole d*amn career for one f*ucking bottle of water!" Leaf and Gary stared with wide eyes as Jessica Hills herself walked by in a rage, her pink hair looking perfect and her eyes fiery with irritation. Suddenly, she noticed the two of them gawking at her.

"Well, aren't you two just adorable," she said, walking over to them. Her anger seemed to have dissolved instantly. "Are you nervous for your first performance?" she asked.

Leaf wanted to answer, but she was distracted by the sheer amount of boobage that was right in her face. Jessica wasn't exactly a modest dresser, and very little was left to the imagination.

"We're a little nervous," Gary admitted. Leaf snorted quietly. His voice sounded a bit strained. She knew she wasn't the only one who had noticed Jessica's melon sized breasts. That's what she gets for dating someone who was a player in the past.

"You guys will do fine," Jessica assured them, flipping her pink hair back. "I remember when I was eighteen and just starting out... of course that was only five years ago, but still. You two make me feel nostalgic. Good luck, dears." She leaned down and gave Gary a kiss on the cheek before ruffling Leaf's hair. Then she stomped back towards her trailer and began screeching for a bottle of water again.

As Leaf fixed her hair, she turned to look at Gary, who was slowly rubbing his face where Jessica had kissed him and his eyes were still trained on the retreating woman. She felt anger in the pit of her stomach, along with jealousy. Jessica was beautiful. Leaf knew that if it came to looks, she would be nothing compared to the busty, beautiful superstar. And Gary was practically drooling like an idiot...

"You guys are on in five minutes," Anita said, rushing up to them. She looked about as stressed out as she possibly could be. Ethan and Lyra were behind her, ready to go. Lyra wore a shirt similar to Leaf's, but with red instead of green stripes. Her pig tails had been styled to look more feathery and cool, and she wore a pair of black shorts that were super short, but went clear up to her waist. Ethan wore a red t-shirt and black cargo shorts, and he had yellow goggles on his forehead. He'd claimed that he couldn't perform without his goggles, and Anita had unwillingly let him make them part of his look. The boy was currently twirling his drum sticks in his hands like they were two batons. How did he do that?

"You guys are going to perform three songs, and then you need to get off stage as quick as possible, okay?" Anita told them.

"So this is your hot new talent, Anita?" Everyone turned to see a man with blonde hair dressed in a blue hoodie and faded jeans.

"Look at you!" Anita hissed. "Your sloppiness is an insult to our profession!"

"Who is that?" Lyra whispered to Leaf.

"Dunno," Leaf answered. "Let's keep watching and see."

"Listen, babe. You might not appreciate the fact that I like to dress casually, but obviously it doesn't hinder me from doing my job. Who was it that discovered Jessica Hills in the first place? Oh yeah, that was me!" The man had a light tone to his voice that dripped with amusement. It was undeniable that he thoroughly enjoyed Anita's disgust towards him.

"You may have discovered her, but she dumped you the second she was famous enough to do it," Anita said. "I guess she couldn't stand your overall demeanor either. I'm sure she felt you were a bad reflection on her."

"She may have ditched me and hired that earring wearing bird-legged man over there, but hey... that doesn't take away from my success, honey. I've discovered a lot of stars. I'd even go so far as to say that my casual outlook is the very reason for my success. I'm approachable. You're intimidating."

"Stop calling me things like babe and honey! I'm a _professional_! And I am not intimidating! I'm... alluring! I'm mysterious! People are drawn to me because I take my job seriously. And that makes them trust me and makes them feel like they can succeed. And now that I think about it, why are you even _here_, Jason?"

"I was in the neighborhood. Wanted to stop by and see you -"

Leaf was drawn away from the interesting argument going on in front of her by Lyra.

"It's show time. We'll leave Anita to deal with... her rival in talent scouting I think? I don't know, either way we have to get on stage!"

"Right," Leaf said. Anita's little spat with that man had provided a good distraction. She'd forgotten how nervous she was about performing and how angry she was about Jessica kissing Gary's cheek. Speaking of Gary, where was he?

Suddenly, somebody bumped into Leaf from behind.

"Sorry, babe!" Gary apologized.

"It's like you've never worn shoes before! Get it together, Oak," Leaf said coldly.

"Yes ma'am," Gary muttered darkly.

"Knock it off you two. We're on," said Ethan. They entered the stage together and went to their places. Some of the people in the audience clapped and cheered, but many of them continued talking to their friends because they'd come to see Jessica Hills, and they didn't care about the opening band.

The four of them exchanged looks, and then Ethan hit his drum sticks together a few times before the rest of them began playing. There was a huge screen behind them and their band name was projected onto it in huge red letters.

The first song went really well. Leaf could see that the audience was starting to get into the performance and cheer for them.

Their second song was the one that they had written together back when they first met. The addition of Lyra and Ethan to the band had made them able to turn the song into a rock tune instead of acoustic, and the audience seemed to love it. As Leaf sang and played keyboard, she thought about how it had been back then. She and Gary had hated each other, but they had been able to bond through music. They'd shared a lot of memories in the little practice room in the back of Meryl's shop. And then they'd gone through their journey of running away and hiding in Pallet Town. And now they were here. Opening for a Jessica Hills concert. Tomorrow, the news would reach their parents and there would be all kinds of people trying to drag them back into their old, and separate, lives. Anita had assured them that security would handle anyone who ever tried to get back stage, and anyone who followed them when they weren't performing, but Leaf couldn't stop worrying. The thought that someone could come and rip her away from all of this was too unbearable.

She could feel that in her distraction she was beginning to make some mistakes as she played. Gary looked over at her with a stressed look on his face. She shot him an apologetic look and tried her best to get it together.

They were able to hold the song down until the end, but Leaf knew that the audience was able to tell that something had gone wrong. This last song was their last chance to impress the audience, and it needed to go perfectly or else they might be at risk of being dropped by the record company. Luckily, they'd saved their strongest song for last. It was a tune that she and Gary had written right before leaving for the tour. It was a pounding rock song about turning pain into motivation for a better life, and about staying true to yourself in the midst of life's trials. Leaf knew the topic was cliché, but it was the kind of song that people loved, and this audience seemed to be no exception. They were dancing and cheering almost as loudly as they would for a famous band.

As the song ended, Gary smiled over at her. They'd managed to pull off their first performance.

"Thank you very much," Leaf said into her microphone. "Now, who's ready for Jessica Hills?!" The audience went crazy, and the four of them quickly exited the stage as Jessica Hills came running out and started singing one of her songs.

"You were fantastic!" Anita said, greeting them with hugs. "The audience definitely took notice of you!"

"They had problems in the middle of their performance," said "Jason" from earlier. He seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"I know that," Anita huffed. "But they fixed it and they ended up winning the crowd over. By the way, guys, Jason here is going to be traveling with us for a little while."

"Umm... okay," Gary said, confused.

"Great. You guys go enjoy the rest of the concert. I have an appointment with Jessica's agent, and you," she said, turning to Jason, "stay out of trouble."

"Aye-aye, captain," he said, saluting her as she walked away. He then turned to the four of them. "Hey, kids, don't touch any of the alcohol at your concerts. This place is full of crazies and you don't know who's been slipping what into where." With that, he walked away, leaving them all staring at him blankly.

"He's... different," Leaf commented.

"Come on, let's go!" Lyra shouted, grabbing Ethan and dragging him away with her towards the audience.

"Wait," Gary said as Leaf started to follow them. "What happened with you tonight?"

"They'll know where we are now," Leaf said quietly. "They're going to find us, Gary. And they're going to take me away from this. Away from you."

"That's not true. We have people guarding us at all of these concerts. And we're musicians now. We have contracts. And most of all, we're eighteen. They can't force us to come home. The only reason they still look for us to make sure we're not dead, or because our parents have offered them so much money that they don't care what the law says. We'll be fine, Leaf. I won't let them take you away from me."

"Promise?"

"I promise. Come on now. Let's go enjoy the concert. It's not everyone who gets into every Jessica Hills concert for free you know!"

His smile was infectious. Leaf couldn't help but smile as well and take his hand. No matter what, she would never willingly go back home. This was her life now. Gary, and concerts. What felt like so much to her was really so little, but it was everything she'd ever hoped it would be.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

May's heart dropped as her teacher handed back last week's physics test. The big red D slid across her desk and hit her in the stomach both physically and metaphorically. She'd never done so poorly in a class, and it was all _his _fault.

Brendan was on the other side of the room, looking forward with a bored expression on his face. Every day, she'd been watching him. Not a breath, blink, or twitch of his hand went unnoticed by her.

"Some of your test scores were lower than I would have liked," the teacher said. "We're going to do a lab today. Instead of your normal partners, I'm going to pair you up so that the more skilled students can help those who are struggling."

May watched Brendan yawn as their teacher began naming off the pairs. His red eyes glanced around. He was clearly wondering who his partner would be.

"Brendan Birch and May Maple," the teacher announced before moving on to the next pair.

No. She couldn't have just said that. May watched as Brendan turned in his seat to look at her. His eyes seemed cautious, like he was trying to read her feelings. He seemed unsure about how to approach the situation. May felt her eyes water a bit as her throat began to hurt. For the first time in weeks, she looked away from him. There were plenty of other smart students in the class who could help her. Why had she been paired with him of all people?

"The instructions are up her on my desk," the teacher finally said. "Grab a sheet and get to work." May quickly got up and walked to the front of the room to retrieve the instructions. She thought about the possibility of running out the door, but she couldn't risk the chance of getting a detention. She knew she had no choice but to go back and face him.

May took time going back to the desk. She picked up all of the supplies they would need for their lab sluggishly, dragging her feet and pretending that there were problems with the things she picked up so that she'd have to put them back and grab new ones. At one point she glanced over at Brendan and saw him rolling his eyes. She then glanced at the clock. Twenty-five more minutes. She just had to get through twenty-five minutes with him.

Slowly, she walked back to the desk, and she set all of the supplies on the table between them. Brendan snatched the instructions from her hands, startling her.

"Don't be so tense," he said. Anger burned within her. How dare he tell her how to feel after what he'd done to her? He had no right to tell her what she should be feeling. May sat there silently, keeping one eye on the clock and one eye on him.

Brendan began picking up the supplies and setting up the lab. He wrote down some of the answers in the blanks on the paper.

"You're supposed to be helping me." May froze. She hadn't meant to say that out loud. Brendan looked up at her in annoyance. He handed the instructions to her.

"Help yourself."

May read the instructions, and tried to make sense of them. She began fiddling with part three of the lab so that it might be ready by the time Brendan got there.

"Can you hand me one of the weights?" she asked him. He picked one up and set it on his other side where she couldn't even reach it.

"I want it in my _hand_, Brendan," May said in annoyance, letting her arm fall to her side since nothing was going to be given to her.

"Oh, I'll put it in your hand," he said with a smirk. In a flash, he grabbed her wrist and pressed her hand into his crotch. She pulled back fiercely, her mind screaming silently. Her skin felt like there were bugs crawling all over it and she wanted to rip it all off. Everything came rushing back suddenly and she couldn't handle it.

In a fog, May went to the teacher and asked to go to the restroom. Her heart pounded all the way down the endless hallway, pushing her forward while her mind kept shutting down. She didn't even notice the other girl who was washing her hands as she entered the restroom. She just went down to the last stall and shut herself inside.

May sat down on the dirty bathroom floor and pulled her legs to her chest rocking back and forth slowly. The smallness of the stall gave her a bit of comfort, but she couldn't stop her racing heart. She stayed there until the bell rang, signaling that the class was over. Her stomach and head hurt, and she found it impossible to think about anything other than what had just happened and what had happened months before that.

Shakily, she pulled herself up and left the bathroom, heading for her locker. No way could she finish the school day. She was just going to grab her things and go home. She put her jacket on, which made her feel a bit better, and then she grabbed her books and headed out to the school's parking lot, careful to avoid being caught leaving.

Once she was in her car, she buckled her seatbelt and then slammed her head on the wheel. The car horn made the sounds that she couldn't find the voice to make. Emotional pain is funny, the way it made her breath hard and wince as though she were being physically tortured. She stayed like that for a moment, just letting the hurt do its hurting.

"How am I gonna drive?" she whimpered to herself as she leaned back in her seat. She turned the key in the ignition so that the radio would play. For a while, she just sat and listened, trying to calm down. It didn't help much, but she finally got herself to a point where she felt like she could drive. All she had to do was make it home. A fifteen minute drive and she'd be there.

As she pulled out of the parking lot, she felt her eyes tear up again, and she wiped at them with the sleeve of her jacket. She made it through the city safely, and she began to relax. Her house was just a little ways outside the city, and then she'd be able to crawl into bed and let everything out.

A song began playing on the radio. The lyrics spoke about love and romance, and hot nights of making love. May felt sick, and she felt the tears come back once again. She reached to turn off the radio and then wipe her eyes. While she was doing that, she couldn't see the truck that was approaching the intersection up ahead at a ridiculously fast pace. Just as she finished wiping her eyes, she saw the truck up ahead and she slammed on the breaks as she violently turned her wheel to the right. She'd been going fifty-five miles per hour, and as her car slid towards the ditch, she felt it begin to roll. A fraction of a second later, her screaming cut off and everything went black.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once again I'm going to post a shorter chapter. Sorry, but I can't resist leaving you with a cliff hanger and adding another section would make it too long anyways.

Also, if anybody is looking for good pokemon fanfics to read, I added a section at the bottom of my profile page where I put some suggestions. I thought it would be a good way to support some stories without messing with running a community. I only put the best of what I've read on there, so I promise high quality. There's stories with lots of different shippings, so check it out of you're bored, and I'm sure those authors would appreciate it :)

Thank you to all of my readers! Hopefully I'll be able to update again soon but I'll be starting college in a couple of weeks so no promises!


	9. Chapter 9: No Right Answers

**Heyyyyyyyyyy everyone. So… been awhile. Like, how long has it been? *checks* August 8, 2015…. So almost 2 years. What happened around that time? Oh, that's right. I met my boyfriend. Blame him. Anyways, I am sorry about abandoning this story for such a long time. I debated whether or not I would actually continue it, and I've come to the conclusion that yes, I want to. I really do. So we'll see how many of you people are still around, heheh… For those of you who are, thanks for your patience and I hope you're excited for this new chapter! Thank you to all my readers old and new, you guys are awesome! Now let's find out what happened to May…**

**On the upside, my profanity filtering problem is solved now! :D **

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Where is she?!" Misty demanded as she burst through the doors to the ER sector of the hospital. People stared at her anxiously, and Dawn grabbed her arm.

"Shh… these people are worried about their own emergencies," she whispered, "Try to be respectful."

"Our friend rolled her car and you're worried about manners?" Misty scoffed, "Hey nurse, do you know anything about May Maple?"

The nurse eyed her warily. "That high school girl they brought in earlier? She's awake and doing well. She broke her arm and she has a minor concussion, but aside from that she's doing fine. Her family is with her right now. Friends aren't allowed in her room yet I'm afraid."

"Then why am I here?" Misty huffed.

"Just relax," Dawn sighed, "May's alright and that's what really matters. Thank you," she called to the nurse who was making a hasty retreat. Misty sighed and plunked down into one of the chairs in the waiting room.

"So we wait for them to let us in?"

"Well… if she's doing as well as the nurse said they'll probably let her go home tonight."

"Should we call Drew and let him know?"

"I don't think so. If we tell him then he'll want to talk to her and it'll drive him crazy since she probably can't talk to him at the moment."

"So we're just going to go home," Misty stated flatly.

"I guess so."

"Why in the hell did she leave school early anyway? She was fine this morning."

"I don't know. She didn't tell me either. It must have been something serious, since she left without telling the office and she left her books in the classroom."

Misty's face grew concerned. A few hours earlier she and Dawn had both been called to the school office. They'd asked the girls if they knew anything about why May had left early, but neither of them had a clue. They were then told about May's accident, and Misty had insisted that they ditch their last two classes and drive to the hospital immediately. Now she could see that it hadn't done any good.

"I think we should go back to school," Dawn suggested.

"For one class? No thanks."

"What else can we do?"

"Let's go buy May some flowers and stuff for when we do get to see her."

"That's a good idea," Dawn said, her face brightening.

With that, the two of them left the hospital and went to the local department store.

"Which type of flower is May's favorite? Any idea?" Dawn asked.

"Well, since meeting Drew I'll bet it's roses," Misty said with a smirk, "Remember how he gave her one the first time we met the guys?"

"Yeah. That was kind of weird, actually," Dawn acknowledged.

"And Paul called you a slut, remember?"

Dawn smiled. Oh how Paul had charmed her at their first meeting. Not.

"Oh, I remember quite well," Dawn assured her, "You were impressed by all that food Ash was eating that morning."

"He's a regular human garbage disposal," Misty said proudly, "Just like me!"

"Anyways, I'm sure Drew will send May some roses once he hears from her, so let's pick out something different," Dawn suggested, "How about these peonies?"

"I like the red and white colors," Misty agreed, "I'm sure May will love them. What else should we get her?"

"Chocolate. And a card of course." Together, the two girls picked out a get well soon card and three of May's favorite candy bars.

"That should do it," Dawn said.

"This will cheer her up for sure," Misty said with a smile.

"Poor May. Too bad she broke her arm. I guess she won't be able to finish volleyball season."

"Yeah, that sucks. Especially since it's our senior year."

"We'll have to hang out more so we can keep her in good spirits."

"Agreed."

"We'll have to give her all this stuff tomorrow. But we totally have to call her tonight!"

"Of course!"

"Well, I think I'm going to go home. Want to come over, Misty?" Dawn asked as they left the checkout.

"I think I need to go swim some laps. Thanks for the offer though. If May's feeling up to it let's have a sleepover Saturday."

"Okay, I'll ask my Mom if we can have it at my house."

"Awesome. Later!" Misty called as she went to her car. She'd go for a swim, then call Ash later, then call May. One thing was for sure, she needed to get a few laps in after a day like today.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I'm sorry, Mom," May said, tears in her eyes. She was sitting in a hospital bed surrounded by her family. Her mom, dad, and Max were all there after what had happened, and the events of the day had left them all feeling emotional.

"I'm just glad you're safe," her mother sighed, "But why did you leave school in the middle of the day?"

"I felt really sick," May lied.

"Why didn't you go to the nurse's office? Or even sign out of the main office before you left?" her dad asked. May began to panic a bit. She knew that her explanation here was crucial. One slip and her dishonesty would be exposed.

"I felt so bad that I just couldn't even think straight. All I cared about was going home. I couldn't bring myself to care about signing out in the office."

"You must have really been out of it," her mother said with a frown, "I guess that would explain why you didn't see the truck. Don't get me wrong, honey, he went through a stop sign at the intersection without stopping, but the roads are clear. You should have been able to see him barreling along."

"I know. I… don't remember how it all went down, really," May admitted. "How's my car, by the way? Is it totaled?"

"Pretty much," her father said, "but don't worry about that, honey. Cars are replaceable. You aren't."

"Did the other driver get away?"

"Unfortunately he did," her mother said tersely, "but I hope karma gets him back for what he did to you. Seriously, he cut you off and then didn't even stop when he saw you crash! If I ever find out who he is he'll be getting an earful!"

"Oh, mom," May sighed, "You're the best. All of you. I'm feeling really tired and my head still hurts. Do you guys mind if I rest for a while?"

"Of course not, honey," her mother said.

"I'm going to take Max home and then go back to work," her father said, "Mom will stay with you and we'll see you tonight when you get home. I love you, May." With that, her father gave her a kiss on the forehead and he left with Max behind him. May closer her eyes and sighed deeply. She seemed to be off the hook as far as getting in trouble went, but as for the day's events and the toll they'd taken on her… Well, that was a different story.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Drew grunted as he tackled down one of his teammates. Football practice was almost over, and Ash would be there to pick him up afterwards. Paul had made some excuse not to hang out today. Paul had been acting pretty weird in general. Drew made a mental note to talk to Reggie about it if he saw him soon. He'd rather just talk to Paul about it, but he knew that wouldn't get him anywhere.

"Alright, guys! That was an okay practice! Tomorrow is weight day and then Thursday you'd all better give me one-hundred percent! We're playing Eterna High Friday and they're the favorite to win this year!" The guys all grunted and muttered as they headed for the locker rooms. Coach was being extra tough on them this week.

Drew showered as quickly as possible. They all did. It was so awkward to be surrounded by other naked guys, and there was a silent agreement not to look. They'd all done a little looking at some point though. Every guy wants to see a few other guys so that he knows if what he has is above or below average.

As he left the sports complex, Drew saw Ash waiting outside wearing jogging shorts and a tank top. He'd just finished cross country practice and his hair was still wet from his own shower.

"Hey, man. What are we doing tonight?" Ash asked as he walked up to him.

"I dunno. I'm kinda worn out."

"Want to head to my place and play some Call of Duty?"

"Sure. Sounds good."

The two of them drove to Ash's house. Drew politely greeted Miss Ketchum, and then they went to Ash's basement to play. Drew had always thought that Ash's basement was the coolest place in the world. When they were younger, it was the big bean bag chair and the basketball hoop that got him excited. Now it was the mini fridge and the speakers with surround sound.

"Hey, remember when we were kids and we used to play the zombie game?" Ash asked.

"God, that was stupid. Not to mention dangerous."

The zombie game was a game that the four of them would play together. One person was designated as the "zombie," and the other three had to hide and get away. They would turn out all the lights so that it was completely dark, but the zombie also had to close their eyes for some unexplained reason. As one would expect, the game caused several injuries and near-catastrophes throughout the years. One time they'd flipped the couch while Drew was behind it, and he'd just barely escaped without getting squished. Another time Gary had been standing on the treadmill in the corner and Paul decided to turn it on. Gary ended up running on the treadmill in the dark with his eyes closed, which didn't last very long to say the least.

"Good times," Ash said happily.

"It was pretty fun," Drew admitted.

They set up the game and got online, prepared to get annoyed by some middle school noobs.

"Hey, Paul is online!" Ash said happily.

"Yeah, he had a really good excuse not to hang out today," Drew said sarcastically.

Ash turned the voice chat on so that they could talk to Paul.

"Hi, Paul!" Ash chirped happily into his headset.

"Shut up and help me kill these fuckers," Paul said bluntly.

"I'm happy to see you too!" Ash said happily. Drew just smiled and shook his head.

"Hey, kale-head," Paul said.

"Yeah?" Drew asked.

"Take this." Suddenly Paul's character started shooting the hell out of Drew's.

"What's that for?!" Drew shouted.

"I dunno," Paul said nonchalantly.

"Why are you being an asshole, Paul?"

"When am I not an asshole?"

"Guys, guys!" Ash pleaded, "Stop fighting. We're bros, remember? Brothers in arms!"

Paul snorted. "You take this game way too seriously."

"Are you still mad at me for telling Reggie about Dawn?" Drew asked.

"Maybe."

"Can we get past that please?"

"Okay. But let me do this first."

Paul shot at Drew's character some more until he was dead.

"Feel better?"

"One-hundred percent."

"Shit, my Pokégear is ringing." Drew said.

"Tell May to wait, this is intense," Ash said.

"Nah, I think I'll talk to her real quick," Drew said, "Paul killed me anyway." He walked upstairs into the living room to get some privacy.

"Hey, honey," Drew said as he answered.

"Hey," May said.

"What's up?"

"I… have to talk to you about what happened today."

"What do you mean?"

"I got in a little car accident."

"Oh my god are you okay?" Drew asked.

"Yes. I broke my arm. I have a slight concussion. Nothing too serious."

"May, how did it happen?"

"I… left school early and I was distracted while driving and I didn't see the truck coming through the stop sign and I just… Drew…" May started to sniffle and before he knew it she was sobbing.

"It's okay, May… It's okay… You're safe," Drew said comfortingly.

"It… It's Brendan's fault. He –"

"What did he do?" Drew demanded darkly. If he did anything to May he'd drive to Jubilife and cut this guy's balls off.

"We were in class, and we got paired up by the teacher. I asked him to hand me something and he pretty much grabbed my hand and rubbed it on his… you know."

"He did what!?"

"He also told me to get over what happened. Drew, I… I couldn't think straight. I ran out of there and drove home and my eyes were all blurry and before I knew it I woke up in the hospital."

Drew ran a hand down his face in anger.

"I'll kill him," he muttered.

"Drew… Don't say that."

"I know, I just… I'm pissed."

"Thanks."

"May, if I ever come face to face with this guy…"

"Punch him upside the head for me."

"With pleasure."

The two of them talked a while longer until May felt better.

"I have to go. Misty and Dawn keep trying to call me."

"Okay, honey. I'm glad you're safe. Everything's going to be alright."

"Thanks, Drew. I love you."

"I love you too. Feel better."

Drew sighed as he hung up. It just never ended for May. Why couldn't he be there to protect her?

He returned to Ash's basement and saw that he and Paul were both still playing.

"Shoot him, Paul!" Ash yelled.

"Hey, Ash, I'm going home."

"Kay. See you tomorrow," Ash said absently. Drew rolled his eyes. He knew in about half an hour he'd get a call from Ash asking where he went. He didn't want to hang out anymore though. He was too upset about May.

As he drove home, he thought about what to do. He'd have some flowers delivered to May obviously, but that wasn't enough. He really needed to help her solve this problem.

"There's got to be a way. A way to keep her safe. A way to teach this guy a lesson," he muttered. If only he knew what it was.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dawn laid wide awake in bed, her mind swirling with anxious thoughts. She was worried about May's car accident, but that was only the most recent of her troubles. She was still trying to figure out what to do as far as telling her father about Samantha. She was rarely alone with her father in the first place, and while they had a healthy father-daughter relationship, she'd never had many deep or meaningful conversations with him. She knew that if she delivered the information badly, the whole thing could erupt into an emotional mess.

What was really troubling her though was Paul. She kept thinking back to last Friday's football game. They hadn't been able to spend much time together since she'd had to cheer the entire game, and she'd had to get on the bus with the other cheerleaders almost immediately after the game ended, but they had been able to share a warm hug and a few words before she had to go. She couldn't get it out of her head. He had hugged her so tightly, almost desperately.

"Call me tonight. I need to talk to you," he'd said.

"I need to talk to you too," she'd answered, rubbing his back. He flinched in her arms, and that's when she'd known that something had gone down between him and his father.

"Oh, Paul…" she'd whispered, fighting back tears.

"You have to go," he'd whispered gently. The two of them shared a sad look.

"I'll call you when I get home," she'd promised.

"I'll wait for you."

After a long bus ride, she had felt exhausted, but the moment she got home she dialed Paul's number. He'd needed her and she'd needed to tell him about what had happened to her as well.

"What happened?" she'd asked after he greeted her tiredly.

"Reggie was over for dinner about a week ago. We… got into an argument. I provoked him. You know how it is. He got up and left the table, and my father demanded that I go apologize to him. When I went to do it, I overheard Reggie and his girlfriend talking. Dawn… I had a moment of hope.

"Hope?" she'd asked, confused by the sudden positivity.

"Maylene was arguing with Reggie, and she told him that she has a weird feeling about my father. She gets a bad vibe from him or something. And she was trying to argue that some things seemed odd about the relationships between the three of us. I don't know, it was like… she was standing up for me. Of course, Reggie wouldn't hear it, and he ended up dragging her home."

"And what happened afterwards?" Dawn had probed gently, already knowing the answer.

"My dad got pissed. He grabbed me and beat me. It wasn't too bad – he only hit me a few times. They… hurt like hell though."

"Oh, Paul…" Dawn whispered, fighting back tears once again. She knew that she needed to be strong for him in these moments. It broke her heart to know that he was suffering, and she knew that if she got too upset it would only make him feel worse.

"What did you want to talk about?" Paul had asked, his voice emotionless. She'd know he was trying to change the subject to help them both out, but she felt bad leaving it so unresolved. It killed her inside knowing that there was no comfort she could give him.

"I… got a letter in the mail a couple days ago," she'd said apprehensively, "It… it was from your dad."

"What…?"

"He advised me to break up with you. He said you're only using me as an outlet for your negative emotions. And he said… he said if I don't end our relationship, we would both suffer the consequences…"

For several moments, all Dawn had heard was silence. She couldn't imagine what must have been going through his head.

"Paul… I won't do it. I won't break up with you just because he told me to."

"Don't you get it, Dawn?" Paul had suddenly snapped, "He knows about you. He obviously knows your address. He's scared that I've told you too much. That you could do something. And he's seriously capable of hurting you."

"I don't care, Paul! I'm not leaving you behind just to protect myself –"

"This man killed my mom! He could do the same thing to you and I'd never forgive myself! I don't care if he beats me. I don't care if he kills me. But if he hurts you, I'll crumble. I… I can't let that happen."

"So what are you saying?" Dawn had whispered, "That we should break up and you should abandon what makes you happy because of him?"

"No. I'm saying that I love you."

"And I'm saying that I love you. I won't let go of you, Paul Stone. Not because of this."

"Dawn… Thank you." The two of them had shared a soft silence then, listening to the other breathing through the Pokégear.

"I'll pretend to be pissed at him. I'll pretend that you broke things off with me."

"Be careful. I don't want him to hurt you."

"It's the only way to fully convince him that you're out of my life."

"Paul, no…"

"I have to. Because I love you."

"I love you too, Paul… Just please… Promise me you won't go too far. Don't push him any more than you have to."

"I won't. I promise."

"Paul…" Dawn had sobbed gently. She cried quietly, and Paul shushed her to calm her down.

"Alright, Troublesome. You'd better got to bed."

"I don't want to leave you."

"It's okay. I'll still be here tomorrow."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Okay. Good night."

"Good night."

Dawn stared up at her ceiling, her eyes unblinking. That had been over a week ago. They had talked several times since then, but Paul hadn't said whether or not he'd gone through with his plan yet. She knew he must be scared, but if he hadn't done it yet he couldn't wait too much longer. Too much longer and the time lapse would make it seem ingenuine.

"Oh, Paul," she whispered, "Just please be safe. I know you're doing this for my sake."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Paul sighed to himself quietly. He was laying on his bed, trying to work up the courage for what he was about to do. He knew his father was downstairs in his study. He knew he couldn't wait much longer if he wanted his plan to work out. Tonight was the night.

Breathing shakily, he forced himself out of his bedroom. Very rarely in his life had he ever confronted his father, and historically it had always ended unpleasantly. This time would be no different. He was prepared to take a beating even though his previous wounds were still in the healing process.

Prepared. Ha. Like there was such a thing as being prepared to take a beating.

Nervously, Paul approached his father's study. He was probably in the middle of something work related, but that was the norm. The chances of him being able to catch his father when he wasn't busy were slim. Best to just be blunt and get it over with.

"Dawn broke up with me," he stated flatly, standing in the doorway.

"Good," his father replied, not looking up from his computer screen, "Smart girl."

"I know you had something to do with it."

"So? I'm just doing what's best for you."

Paul felt his blood beginning to simmer. It was so hard, having a temper and being paralyzed by fear at the same time.

"What's best for me? Ruining my life is what's best for me?" he asked coldly.

"If that girl was your whole life, then you have a problem."

"My whole life… I have no real life. That's all been taken from me."

For the first time during the conversation, his father looked up at him.

"You'd better quit while you're behind. I don't want to hear a word out of you about how you don't have a life. Your life is fine. Now get the hell out of here and let me get back to work."

Paul hesitated. Had he done enough to convince him? Did his father really believe that he and Dawn had broken up? If so, then it seemed like he could get out of this without a scratch. He couldn't risk it though. He had to be sure that his father believed him. For Dawn's sake.

"I hate you," Paul muttered as he turned to leave.

"Stop."

Paul froze. This was it. This is what would push his father over the edge.

"Your hate is a given. If you think I don't know that you hate me, then you're a fool. But as long as you live here, I will have your obedience and your respect. I don't care if it's genuine or not. Now, do you have anything else to say? Because I should have beat your ass by now but I have to get this done by tomorrow. If you want to argue with me some more, I'll be happy to put you in your place. But if you leave now I'll let it slide this one time. Don't expect mercy from me again."

Paul nodded and left silently. He breathed a sigh of relief once he reached his room. He'd lucked out. Inside he was practically raging from the things his father had said, but raging was way better than crying in pain. He'd take this frustration over that any day of the week.

Preparing for bed, he stripped down to his boxers and put his earbuds in. For a while he laid in the darkness, but he couldn't get his father's words out of his head. Obedience. Respect. What respect? That man didn't deserve an ounce of respect from him. The longer he laid there, the more frustrated and angry he got. Paul jumped out of bed and started pacing his floor furiously. He needed to calm down. He needed…

Glancing over at his desk drawer, he had a silent tug of war with himself. He'd promised Dawn, but… he'd risked a lot for her tonight and he deserved something for that. Just once. Just once and then he'd continue on with his promise.

Having made up his mind, Paul opened the drawer and removed the joint that Kenny had passed to him at the football game. He hadn't been able to throw it away. Thank god for that. He found his lighter and lit the joint, taking a hit and moaning almost euphorically. He'd missed this shit, even if he was better off without it.

Sitting at his desk, he began to feel a lot more relaxed as time passed and the joint shrunk down. He didn't really care if his father could smell the weed. He'd caught his smoking it plenty of times before and didn't seem to care. He was probably rooting for him to get caught by the police anyway.

Damn, this stuff was great. Too bad he'd promised Dawn that he'd quit. Maybe she'd let him take up normal smoking. At least once he turned eighteen in a couple of months. That was legal and she had to understand… even if she didn't like it.

"Dawn," he mumbled. He was beginning to feel tired now, and he slowly made his way back to bed. He'd made it through tonight. But tomorrow would be another day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

** Well, there it is! I hope you guys enjoy it. I'll try to update again soon. Like I said, I really want to continue this story. **

** If you have any ideas, feel free to share them with me! I'm always open to you guys' suggestions and requests (though I can't promise anything since they might clash with my already existing plans). **

** I'm curious to see how many of you guys are still around… hmm… I'm sure I'll get new readers too so welcome!**

** Thanks for everything guys! I appreciate it!**


End file.
